Amundi Cuts Position in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Amundi lessened its holdings in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 30.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,553,998 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,137,257 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $66,915,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,164,170 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $310,308,000 after buying an additional 1,136,800 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 29,451 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 417,490 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 130,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 936,900 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Royalty Pharma stock opened at $32.46 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Royalty Pharma plc has a 12 month low of $24.05 and a 12 month high of $34.20. The company has a market cap of $18.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.47.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last issued its 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is presently 60.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, TD Cowen upgraded Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royalty Pharma presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $41.60.

Royalty Pharma Company 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.