Simplify Asset Management Inc. Trims Stake in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Simplify Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 62.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 56,188 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 92,267 shares during the quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $1,482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 30.6% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 10,813,470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $285,151,000 after acquiring an additional 2,533,570 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the fourth quarter worth $119,740,000. New South Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 60.7% in the second quarter. New South Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,348,977 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,943,000 after purchasing an additional 887,522 shares during the period. Homestead Advisers Corp lifted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 40.7% during the first quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp now owns 1,892,540 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $57,502,000 after purchasing an additional 547,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 10.4% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,856,998 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $56,396,000 after purchasing an additional 175,261 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Shares of RPRX opened at $27.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 9.35 and a current ratio of 9.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.61 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89, a PEG ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.02. Royalty Pharma plc has a fifty-two week low of $25.20 and a fifty-two week high of $31.66.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.01. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 23.61% and a net margin of 30.08%. The company had revenue of $537.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $600.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on RPRX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group cut Royalty Pharma from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Royalty Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

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.