Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Position in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 7.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,405,913 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 98,649 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.24% of Royalty Pharma worth $49,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RPRX. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Royalty Pharma by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,060 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Royalty Pharma by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,499 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on RPRX shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.67.

Royalty Pharma Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ RPRX opened at $46.69 on Thursday. 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 PLC has a 12-month low of $29.66 and a 12-month high of $47.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $42.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59 and a beta of 0.40.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.13. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 28.21% and a net margin of 32.38%.The company had revenue of $621.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.97 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a $0.235 dividend. This is a positive change from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP George W. Lloyd sold 79,346 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total transaction of $3,060,375.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,182,324.78. This represents a 72.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.26, for a total value of $805,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $805,200. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 737,078 shares of company stock valued at $29,862,002. 18.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Royalty Pharma Profile

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.