The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 2,934,926 Shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 91.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 279,852 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,934,926 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $7,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RPRX. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 175.1% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 43,524 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,322,000 after acquiring an additional 27,701 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Royalty Pharma during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,091,000. Patient Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,247,000. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 30.6% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 10,813,470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $285,151,000 after buying an additional 2,533,570 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 5.2% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 923,639 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $28,051,000 after buying an additional 45,839 shares in the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on RPRX shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.00.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

Royalty Pharma stock opened at $27.75 on Friday. Royalty Pharma plc has a fifty-two week low of $25.20 and a fifty-two week high of $31.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $27.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.85. The stock has a market cap of $16.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 9.35 and a current ratio of 9.35.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $537.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $600.83 million. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 23.61% and a net margin of 30.08%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.69%.

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.