Prudential PLC Sells 171,153 Shares of Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Prudential PLC lessened its stake in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 94.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,575 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 171,153 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new position in Royalty Pharma in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 868.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 881 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 52.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 832 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,499 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Trading Down 1.8%

NASDAQ RPRX opened at $54.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66. The company has a market capitalization of $31.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.16. Royalty Pharma PLC has a one year low of $33.37 and a one year high of $56.50.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $630.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $881.69 million. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 33.88% and a return on equity of 29.25%. Equities analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royalty Pharma

In other Royalty Pharma news, Director Gregory Norden sold 3,045 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $161,385.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 191,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,165,559. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 13,684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.06, for a total transaction of $726,073.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,881 shares in the company, valued at $1,691,605.86. This trade represents a 30.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 199,185 shares of company stock valued at $10,082,926. Company insiders own 18.84% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on RPRX shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Friday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.71.

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.