Eastern Bank Sells 1,157 Shares of Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Eastern Bank trimmed its position in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,287 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,157 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $911,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 270.4% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,623,134 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $112,788,000 after acquiring an additional 2,644,923 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 8.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,847,934 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $88,656,000 after acquiring an additional 226,048 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 37.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,090 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $80,381,000 after acquiring an additional 704,414 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 34.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,284,418 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $39,984,000 after acquiring an additional 326,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 7.5% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,241,051 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,634,000 after acquiring an additional 86,873 shares in the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $46.00.

Royalty Pharma Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ RPRX opened at $36.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $36.18 and a 200 day moving average of $34.65. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 1 year low of $24.05 and a 1 year high of $38.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $578.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $750.06 million. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 44.23% and a return on equity of 25.54%. Research analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is currently 50.87%.

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.