Allstate Corp Invests $299,000 in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Allstate Corp bought a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 11,718 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RPRX. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 32,896 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $931,000 after acquiring an additional 3,291 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Royalty Pharma by 39.7% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 27,869 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 7,919 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 47.5% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 12,733 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares during the period. Portolan Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Royalty Pharma during the third quarter valued at about $4,822,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the third quarter worth about $14,898,000. 54.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royalty Pharma Trading Up 0.4 %

RPRX stock opened at $31.28 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. Royalty Pharma plc has a 1-year low of $24.05 and a 1-year high of $34.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.92.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.15 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is currently 60.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on RPRX shares. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Friday, March 28th. TD Cowen raised shares of Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $41.60.

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.