Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Lowers Stock Holdings in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lowered its stake in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 51.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 669,881 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 720,342 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.11% of Royalty Pharma worth $17,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in RPRX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the fourth quarter worth $124,498,000. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,136,800 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,033,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $85,809,000 after purchasing an additional 936,900 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at about $19,990,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Royalty Pharma in the third quarter worth about $14,898,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Shares of RPRX opened at $31.11 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.96. The firm has a market cap of $17.93 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Royalty Pharma plc has a 1-year low of $24.05 and a 1-year high of $34.20.

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 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, equities analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.49 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. This is a positive change from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is 60.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on RPRX. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.