Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.22 Per Share

Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, January 10th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.22 per share by the biopharmaceutical company on Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21.

Royalty Pharma has raised its dividend payment by an average of 7.3% annually over the last three years. Royalty Pharma has a payout ratio of 17.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Royalty Pharma to earn $4.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.84 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.5%.

Royalty Pharma Stock Up 12.6 %

Royalty Pharma stock opened at $29.49 on Friday. Royalty Pharma has a fifty-two week low of $24.05 and a fifty-two week high of $31.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.04. The stock has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on RPRX shares. StockNews.com raised Royalty Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen raised shares of Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Royalty Pharma from $60.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.67.

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.