Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 46,765 Shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,312,551 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 46,765 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.24% of Royalty Pharma worth $186,846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Keene & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. now owns 19,420 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,074 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Royalty Pharma by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,579 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 41,854 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,068,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Royalty Pharma by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 110,637 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,822,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royalty Pharma Stock Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ:RPRX opened at $31.11 on Monday. 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 plc has a 12-month low of $24.05 and a 12-month high of $34.20. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.50.

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%. Equities 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. This is a boost from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is currently 60.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on RPRX. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Friday, March 28th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royalty Pharma 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.