Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) Stake Lifted by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP boosted its stake in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 43.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 224,272 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 68,300 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $5,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. State Street Corp grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 0.3% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. 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 valued at $205,562,000 after purchasing an additional 417,490 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,131,628 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $79,888,000 after buying an additional 130,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 44.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,033,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $85,809,000 after buying an additional 936,900 shares during the period. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royalty Pharma Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of RPRX stock opened at $31.13 on Tuesday. Royalty Pharma plc has a 1 year low of $24.05 and a 1 year high of $34.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The business’s fifty day moving average is $32.45 and its 200-day moving average is $28.88. The stock has a market cap of $17.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.47.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.16. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 24.40% and a net margin of 37.94%. Equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on RPRX. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen raised shares of Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. One 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.