Sciencast Management LP Makes New Investment in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 39,132 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swedbank AB boosted 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 worth $310,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136,800 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,516,262 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $269,215,000 after acquiring an additional 29,451 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 6.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,265,786 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $205,562,000 after acquiring an additional 417,490 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,131,628 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $79,888,000 after acquiring an additional 130,025 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 44.7% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,033,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $85,809,000 after acquiring an additional 936,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $41.60.

Royalty Pharma Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of RPRX opened at $33.70 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.72. The company has a market capitalization of $19.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.47. 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 1-year low of $24.05 and a 1-year high of $34.20.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.15 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.69%.

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.