Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 12.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,409 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,704 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Royalty Pharma by 2.0% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 11,027,370 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $311,964,000 after acquiring an additional 213,900 shares in the last quarter. New South Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 60.7% during the 2nd quarter. New South Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,348,977 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $61,943,000 after purchasing an additional 887,522 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 6.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,533,094 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,428,000 after purchasing an additional 86,248 shares during the period. Regal Partners Ltd raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 22.7% in the second quarter. Regal Partners Ltd now owns 1,177,601 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,053,000 after buying an additional 217,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 6.7% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 993,578 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,201,000 after buying an additional 62,218 shares during the period. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RPRX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $60.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.67.

Royalty Pharma Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ RPRX opened at $26.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.69, a PEG ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 0.47. Royalty Pharma plc has a one year low of $25.10 and a one year high of $31.66. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.54.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. 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.