Norges Bank Takes Position in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 4,880,346 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,498,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in RPRX. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 1,006.9% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 963 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Royalty Pharma by 417.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,087 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 3,953.3% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 1,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,186 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 187.1% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 997 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in Royalty Pharma by 160.5% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,628 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on RPRX. TD Cowen raised shares of Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $41.60.

Royalty Pharma Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of RPRX stock opened at $31.13 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $17.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.47, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $32.45 and a 200-day moving average of $28.88. Royalty Pharma plc has a 12-month low of $24.05 and a 12-month high of $34.20.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.16. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 24.40% and a net margin of 37.94%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is 60.69%.

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.