ING Groep NV Acquires Shares of 114,600 Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 114,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,923,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of RPRX. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 11,027,370 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $311,964,000 after acquiring an additional 213,900 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 362.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,203 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the third quarter worth approximately $211,000. Forsta AP Fonden lifted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 242,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,857,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 746,287 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $20,836,000 after purchasing an additional 17,159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RPRX opened at $33.42 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.26 billion, a PE ratio of 23.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. Royalty Pharma plc has a fifty-two week low of $24.05 and a fifty-two week high of $33.69.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is presently 57.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RPRX has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen raised Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.