Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) Shares Acquired by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 39.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 131,615 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,136 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $3,357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 2.0% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 11,027,370 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $311,964,000 after purchasing an additional 213,900 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 362.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,203 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 41.1% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 26,847 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 7,817 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC raised its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 8,733 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Royalty Pharma by 171.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 101,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,777,000 after acquiring an additional 64,057 shares in the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RPRX opened at $33.38 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $19.24 billion, a PE ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.09. Royalty Pharma plc has a fifty-two week low of $24.05 and a fifty-two week high of $34.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RPRX has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen raised Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.