Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Acquires 34,537 Shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 77.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 79,142 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 34,537 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $2,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in RPRX. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 16,968,321 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $432,862,000 after acquiring an additional 5,069,127 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at about $124,498,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 187.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,903,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $48,563,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240,384 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,164,170 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $310,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at about $19,990,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Friday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $42.50.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

RPRX traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $33.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,354,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,304,626. The stock has a market cap of $19.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.86, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Royalty Pharma plc has a twelve month low of $24.05 and a twelve month high of $34.20.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.07. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 24.40% and a net margin of 37.94%. The company had revenue of $839.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $724.69 million. Research analysts expect that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Royalty Pharma's payout ratio is presently 60.69%.

About Royalty Pharma

Royalty Pharma plc operates as a buyer of biopharmaceutical royalties and a funder of innovations in the biopharmaceutical industry in the United States. It is also involved in the identification, evaluation, and acquisition of royalties on various biopharmaceutical therapies. In addition, the company collaborates with innovators from academic institutions, research hospitals and not-for-profits, small and mid-cap biotechnology companies, and pharmaceutical companies.