Virtu Financial LLC Buys Shares of 18,320 Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 18,320 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $467,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,164,170 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $310,308,000 after buying an additional 1,136,800 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,516,262 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $269,215,000 after buying an additional 29,451 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 6.1% during 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,131,628 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $79,888,000 after purchasing an additional 130,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in 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 valued at $85,809,000 after buying an additional 936,900 shares in the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royalty Pharma Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:RPRX opened at $33.76 on Wednesday. Royalty Pharma plc has a 52 week low of $24.05 and a 52 week 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 company has a market cap of $19.46 billion, a PE ratio of 23.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.78.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last released 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 return on equity of 24.40% and a net margin of 37.94%. As a group, research analysts expect that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. This is a positive change from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. One 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, 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.