North Dakota State Investment Board Makes New $516,000 Investment in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 13,350 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $516,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 868.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 881 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 31.9% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,499 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 3rd quarter worth $100,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on RPRX shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $53.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gregory Norden sold 3,045 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $161,385.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 191,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,165,559. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 34,791 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.78, for a total value of $1,731,895.98. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 169,577 shares of company stock worth $8,234,191 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 18.84% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Royalty Pharma stock opened at $53.55 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $48.87 and a 200-day moving average of $43.84. 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 has a market capitalization of $30.84 billion, a PE ratio of 36.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 1-year low of $32.15 and a 1-year high of $53.59.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $631.00 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.95%.

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.