KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $3.15 Million Investment in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 123,300 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,145,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keene & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. now owns 19,420 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Royalty Pharma by 31.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,579 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 41,854 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 110,637 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,822,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,471 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the period. 54.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, TD Cowen upgraded Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.60.

Royalty Pharma Stock Down 6.5 %

NASDAQ RPRX opened at $31.56 on Thursday. Royalty Pharma plc has a 1 year low of $24.05 and a 1 year high of $34.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.77, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The business’s 50-day moving average is $32.42 and its 200 day moving average is $28.80.

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

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is 60.69%.

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.