Forsta AP Fonden Boosts Stake in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Forsta AP Fonden lifted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 244,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $6,230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of RPRX. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,460,515 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,705,000 after purchasing an additional 70,130 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 171.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 101,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,777,000 after buying an additional 64,057 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the third quarter valued at $735,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at $2,355,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,033,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $85,809,000 after acquiring an additional 936,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target 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 upgraded Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Royalty Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.67.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Shares of RPRX opened at $31.58 on Friday. Royalty Pharma plc has a 12 month low of $24.05 and a 12 month high of $32.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.50. The company has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.36 and a beta of 0.47.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. This is a positive change from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.52%.

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.