Eastern Bank Has $38.96 Million Stock Position in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Eastern Bank boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 5.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 694,925 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,547 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $38,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in RPRX. LM Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 52.9% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 832 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 173.4% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 689 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RPRX opened at $57.17 on Tuesday. Royalty Pharma PLC has a twelve month low of $34.08 and a twelve month high of $60.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $56.25 and its 200-day moving average is $50.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.89, a PEG ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 0.43.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.08. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 33.88% and a return on equity of 29.25%. The business had revenue of $630.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $881.69 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Royalty Pharma from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royalty Pharma

In other news, EVP Christopher Hite sold 150,000 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.40, for a total transaction of $8,160,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 559,399 shares in the company, valued at $30,431,305.60. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 13,684 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.75, for a total transaction of $721,831.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $959,891.75. This represents a 42.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 393,009 shares of company stock valued at $21,601,827 over the last ninety days. 18.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.