Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Cuts Holdings in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its holdings in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 28.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,709 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 22,256 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $1,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 868.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 881 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Royalty Pharma in the third quarter valued at about $54,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,060 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 389.8% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,586 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058 shares during the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RPRX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday. Leerink Partners set a $45.00 price objective on Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royalty Pharma

In other Royalty Pharma news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 20,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.29, for a total value of $872,856.27. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,885 shares in the company, valued at $990,691.65. This represents a 46.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.09, for a total value of $821,800.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 1,170,028 shares of company stock valued at $46,545,276 in the last three months. 18.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

RPRX stock opened at $45.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.53 and a 200-day moving average of $38.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47 and a beta of 0.42. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 12 month low of $29.66 and a 12 month high of $45.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.13. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 32.38% and a return on equity of 28.21%. The business had revenue of $621.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.97 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.19%.

About Royalty Pharma

Royalty Pharma plc is a specialty finance company that acquires biopharmaceutical royalty interests and provides non-dilutive financing to drug developers and rights holders. The firm purchases future royalty streams, milestone-contingent payments and other revenue rights linked to approved and late-stage pharmaceutical and biotechnology products. By paying upfront consideration for these rights, Royalty Pharma seeks to generate long-term cash flows tied to the commercial performance of a diversified portfolio of medicines.

The company’s transaction structures include outright royalty purchases, structured financings and milestone arrangements tailored to the needs of innovator companies, academic institutions and investors.