Arizona State Retirement System Purchases 537 Shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,637 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 537 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $2,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of RPRX. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at about $786,000. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 23,467 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 4,718 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 978,211 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,954,000 after purchasing an additional 129,176 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,131,628 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $79,888,000 after purchasing an additional 130,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 19,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royalty Pharma Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:RPRX opened at $33.01 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $19.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $30.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.41. Royalty Pharma plc has a 52 week low of $24.05 and a 52 week high of $34.20.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.16. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 24.40% and a net margin of 37.94%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. This is an increase from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, TD Cowen upgraded Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.60.

About Royalty Pharma

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.