Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) Announces $0.21 Quarterly Dividend

Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 17th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.21 per share by the biopharmaceutical company on Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th.

Royalty Pharma has raised its dividend payment by an average of 38.7% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 4 consecutive years. Royalty Pharma has a dividend payout ratio of 18.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Royalty Pharma to earn $4.32 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.5%.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Royalty Pharma stock opened at $27.61 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.50. The stock has a market cap of $16.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45. Royalty Pharma has a 12-month low of $25.92 and a 12-month high of $36.67. The company has a quick ratio of 7.90, a current ratio of 7.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $736.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $702.90 million. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 26.93% and a net margin of 48.22%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 210.8% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 805 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 546 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma in the first quarter valued at about $113,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 54.5% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,423 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Ossiam raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 22.3% during the first quarter. Ossiam now owns 3,661 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor Group Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 9.4% during the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 4,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on RPRX. Bank of America decreased their price target on Royalty Pharma from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Royalty Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Royalty Pharma from $56.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Royalty Pharma from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $46.75.

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.