USS Investment Management Ltd Trims Holdings in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

USS Investment Management Ltd lowered its position in shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 28.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 162,149 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 64,457 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $4,135,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 16,968,321 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $432,862,000 after purchasing an additional 5,069,127 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its position in Royalty Pharma by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,164,170 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $310,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136,800 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Royalty Pharma by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,312,551 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $186,846,000 after acquiring an additional 46,765 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Royalty Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $124,498,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Royalty Pharma by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,673,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $93,703,000 after acquiring an additional 640,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of RPRX stock opened at $32.31 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 $18.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.13. Royalty Pharma plc has a 1-year low of $24.05 and a 1-year high of $34.32.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.07. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 24.40% and a net margin of 37.94%. The firm had revenue of $839.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $724.69 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is 47.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RPRX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Royalty Pharma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Royalty Pharma in a research note on Friday, May 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.50.

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.