River Road Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

River Road Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 518,654 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 20,359 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC owned 0.09% of Royalty Pharma worth $20,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LM Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 66.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Royalty Pharma

In other news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 64,399 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.98, for a total transaction of $3,476,258.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gregory Norden sold 3,045 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $161,385.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 191,803 shares in the company, valued at $10,165,559. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 199,185 shares of company stock worth $10,082,926. 18.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Royalty Pharma Stock Down 1.4%

RPRX stock opened at $52.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.01. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 12 month low of $34.08 and a 12 month high of $56.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.50 billion, a PE ratio of 36.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.43.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $630.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $881.69 million. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 29.25% and a net margin of 33.88%. Equities analysts expect that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is presently 63.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RPRX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Royalty Pharma from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Royalty Pharma from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royalty Pharma presently has an average 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.