Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Sells 720,342 Shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lowered its stake in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 51.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 669,881 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 720,342 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $17,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RPRX. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in Royalty Pharma by 1,006.9% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 963 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 417.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,087 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 3,953.3% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 1,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,186 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 187.1% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 997 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 160.5% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,628 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the period. 54.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ:RPRX opened at $31.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $17.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.50. Royalty Pharma plc has a 1 year low of $24.05 and a 1 year high of $34.20. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.96.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.16. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 37.94% and a return on equity of 24.40%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. This is a positive change from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on RPRX. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Friday, March 28th. TD Cowen upgraded Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royalty Pharma currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $41.60.

Royalty Pharma Profile

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.