Values First Advisors Inc. Purchases 5,551 Shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Values First Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 53.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,963 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,551 shares during the quarter. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RPRX. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 11,027,370 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $311,964,000 after purchasing an additional 213,900 shares during the period. Inlet Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma during the third quarter worth approximately $5,332,000. Marathon Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in Royalty Pharma by 2.5% in the third quarter. Marathon Asset Management Ltd now owns 762,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $21,561,000 after buying an additional 18,424 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 362.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,203 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 805,080 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,776,000 after acquiring an additional 71,402 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on RPRX shares. TD Cowen upgraded Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $60.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $41.67.

Royalty Pharma Stock Up 0.3 %

RPRX opened at $32.34 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $28.05 and a 200-day moving average of $27.68. The company has a market capitalization of $19.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76 and a beta of 0.49. Royalty Pharma plc has a fifty-two week low of $24.05 and a fifty-two week high of $32.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.16. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 50.53% and a return on equity of 24.65%. On average, equities analysts expect that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.08 EPS for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. This is an increase from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.52%.

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.