Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) Stake Lowered by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 173,411 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 9,177 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $4,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB increased its position in Royalty Pharma by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,164,170 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $310,308,000 after buying an additional 1,136,800 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 58.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,001,603 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $84,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103,341 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,033,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $85,809,000 after acquiring an additional 936,900 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at about $19,990,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma during the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,898,000. Institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $41.60.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of RPRX opened at $33.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.26 billion, a PE ratio of 23.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.65. Royalty Pharma plc has a 52-week low of $24.05 and a 52-week high of $34.20.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.16. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 37.94% and a return on equity of 24.40%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.69%.

Royalty Pharma Profile

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.