First Trust Advisors LP Has $39.78 Million Stake in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its position in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 31.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,104,044 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 495,192 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $39,779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 603.9% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 655,995 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $23,701,000 after buying an additional 562,799 shares during the period. Watchtower Advisors LP acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,603,000. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 55.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 34,263 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,234,000 after acquiring an additional 12,171 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 22.7% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 52,553 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,893,000 after purchasing an additional 9,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 126.5% during the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,470,706 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $89,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380,115 shares during the period. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Royalty Pharma

In related news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 23,334 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.15, for a total value of $913,526.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 160,000 shares in the company, valued at $6,264,000. This trade represents a 12.73% 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 George W. Lloyd sold 132,426 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.34, for a total value of $5,077,212.84. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 606,929 shares of company stock worth $23,780,885 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on RPRX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Royalty Pharma in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Royalty Pharma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. TD Cowen cut Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.00.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

RPRX opened at $38.09 on Wednesday. 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 $21.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.48. Royalty Pharma PLC has a one year low of $24.05 and a one year high of $41.24.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $609.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $765.01 million. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 26.36% and a net margin of 32.51%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is 66.67%.

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.