Plato Investment Management Ltd Decreases Stock Position in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Plato Investment Management Ltd cut its position in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 83.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,503 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 31,807 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,164,170 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $310,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136,800 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Royalty Pharma by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,516,262 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $269,215,000 after purchasing an additional 29,451 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 6.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,265,786 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $205,562,000 after purchasing an additional 417,490 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 44.7% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,033,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $85,809,000 after purchasing an additional 936,900 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 58.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,001,603 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $84,915,000 after buying an additional 1,103,341 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

Royalty Pharma stock opened at $33.32 on Wednesday. Royalty Pharma plc has a 1-year low of $24.05 and a 1-year high of $34.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.21 billion, a PE ratio of 22.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.28.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.16. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 24.40% and a net margin of 37.94%. As a group, analysts expect that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This is a boost from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is 60.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on RPRX shares. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Royalty Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.60.

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.