Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) Increases Dividend to $0.24 Per Share

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be given a dividend of 0.235 per share by the biopharmaceutical company on Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. This is a 6.8% increase from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22.

Royalty Pharma has a payout ratio of 17.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Royalty Pharma to earn $4.86 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.1%.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

RPRX stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $40.17. 2,397,981 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,863,313. Royalty Pharma has a 52 week low of $27.47 and a 52 week high of $41.70. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 3.48 and a quick ratio of 3.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.19 billion, a PE ratio of 30.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.43.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.06. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 26.36% and a net margin of 32.51%.The firm had revenue of $609.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $765.01 million. As a group, analysts expect that Royalty Pharma will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 69,582 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total value of $2,669,165.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 43,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,669,043.60. The trade was a 61.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.32, for a total value of $786,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,932,000. This trade represents a 16.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 846,511 shares of company stock worth $33,011,004 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 438.0% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 288,202 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,136,000 after purchasing an additional 234,629 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 701.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 189,046 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,685,000 after acquiring an additional 165,451 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 812,663 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,604,000 after acquiring an additional 36,664 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund increased its position in Royalty Pharma by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund now owns 7,900 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in Royalty Pharma by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 44,812 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,732,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

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.