Baillie Gifford & Co. Lowers Stake in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Baillie Gifford & Co. cut its position in shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,134,516 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,987,975 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned approximately 2.40% of Royalty Pharma worth $360,572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,164,170 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $310,308,000 after buying an additional 1,136,800 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,516,262 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $269,215,000 after buying an additional 29,451 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 6.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,265,786 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $205,562,000 after buying an additional 417,490 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 44.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,033,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $85,809,000 after buying an additional 936,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 58.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,001,603 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $84,915,000 after buying an additional 1,103,341 shares in the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royalty Pharma Trading Down 0.3 %

RPRX opened at $32.36 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $28.43 and its 200-day moving average is $27.76. Royalty Pharma plc has a 52-week low of $24.05 and a 52-week high of $32.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.16. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 50.53% and a return on equity of 24.65%. Analysts expect that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is 43.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on RPRX. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $60.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen raised shares of Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.67.

Royalty Pharma Company Profile

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.