River Road Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

River Road Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 154,639 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,344,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Royalty Pharma by 34.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,524 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176 shares during the period. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 9.4% during the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 4,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 48.1% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,105 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 3,608 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 54.5% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,423 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 644.1% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 5,759 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 4,985 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RPRX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Royalty Pharma from $56.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Royalty Pharma from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Royalty Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $46.75.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RPRX opened at $27.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 7.90 and a quick ratio of 7.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $29.79 and a 200-day moving average of $28.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45. Royalty Pharma plc has a fifty-two week low of $25.92 and a fifty-two week high of $36.48.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $736.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $702.90 million. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 26.93% and a net margin of 48.22%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Royalty Pharma plc will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Royalty Pharma Company 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.