World Investment Advisors Sells 48,485 Shares of Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

World Investment Advisors trimmed its position in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 83.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,949 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 48,485 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of RPRX. LM Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in Royalty Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 52.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 832 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Royalty Pharma by 66.4% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on RPRX. Weiss Ratings downgraded Royalty Pharma from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Royalty Pharma from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royalty Pharma has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.71.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RPRX traded down $1.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.43. 2,518,723 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,280,736. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $54.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.90. The stock has a market cap of $32.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.39, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Royalty Pharma PLC has a one year low of $34.08 and a one year high of $58.84.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.08. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 29.25% and a net margin of 33.88%.The company had revenue of $630.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $881.69 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.95%.

Insider Transactions at Royalty Pharma

In related news, EVP Christopher Hite sold 100,000 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.52, for a total transaction of $5,652,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 459,399 shares in the company, valued at $25,965,231.48. This trade represents a 17.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gregory Norden sold 3,045 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $161,385.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 191,803 shares in the company, valued at $10,165,559. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 427,800 shares of company stock valued at $23,333,723. 18.84% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.