Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 3.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,657,407 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 165,727 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $164,313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,200,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $430,426,000 after purchasing an additional 42,800 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,194,938 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $367,324,000 after buying an additional 678,810 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,176,504 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $299,494,000 after acquiring an additional 177,036 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Royalty Pharma during the 2nd quarter valued at about $181,388,000. Finally, Patient Capital Management LLC grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Patient Capital Management LLC now owns 3,117,850 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $109,998,000 after purchasing an additional 129,862 shares during the period. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

NASDAQ:RPRX opened at $47.48 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $42.12 and its 200 day moving average is $39.03. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 12 month low of $29.66 and a 12 month high of $47.66. The company has a market capitalization of $27.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.17 and a beta of 0.40. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $621.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $839.97 million. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 28.21% and a net margin of 32.38%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. 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 currently 69.63%.

Insider Activity at Royalty Pharma

In other news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 20,163 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.29, for a total value of $872,856.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $990,691.65. The trade was a 46.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.09, for a total transaction of $821,800.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 743,863 shares of company stock valued at $29,862,180 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Royalty Pharma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Leerink Partners set a $45.00 target price on Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.67.

Royalty Pharma Company 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.