Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Lowers Position in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its position in shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,869,142 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 137,164 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $47,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 41.3% during the 4th quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 55,062 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,405,000 after buying an additional 16,084 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma during the fourth quarter worth $3,145,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Royalty Pharma by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,250 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $619,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 58.1% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 109,557 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,795,000 after acquiring an additional 40,271 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 67,160 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,713,000 after acquiring an additional 3,671 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, TD Cowen raised shares of Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. One research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royalty Pharma currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $41.60.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of RPRX stock opened at $33.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $32.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $19.46 billion, a PE ratio of 23.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.47. Royalty Pharma plc has a 1 year low of $24.05 and a 1 year high of $34.20.

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

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is currently 60.69%.

Royalty Pharma 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.