Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) Raises Dividend to $0.22 Per Share

Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, January 10th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.22 per share by the biopharmaceutical company on Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21.

Royalty Pharma has increased its dividend by an average of 7.3% per year over the last three years. Royalty Pharma has a payout ratio of 17.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Royalty Pharma to earn $4.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.84 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.5%.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

NASDAQ:RPRX traded up $3.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $29.49. 8,018,094 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,134,580. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $25.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.28, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.47. Royalty Pharma has a 1-year low of $24.05 and a 1-year high of $31.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. StockNews.com raised Royalty Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Royalty Pharma from $60.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.67.

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.