Royalty Pharma PLC (RPRX) has announced its first dividend since the pharmaceutical company became publicly listed earlier this year as one of the biggest initial public offerings in the United States.

In the company's press release dated September 2, 2020 the company announces that the board of directors of Royalty Pharma plc has approved the payment of a dividend for the third quarter of 2020 of $0.15 per class A share.

This first ever dividend of 15 cents per share will be paid on September 30, 2020, to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 15, 2020. This results in a dividend yield of 1.5% based on a stock price of $40.74 and an annual dividend rate of 60 cents per share.

Royalty Pharma currently has a market cap of $34.9 billion. Shortly after the IPO the company's stock price touched an all time high of $56.50 on June 18, before dropping back to a low price of $39.90 on July 24. The stock price hasn't moved much since. Royalty Pharma will pay an estimated annual dividend of $257 million to its shareholders.

Other US companies that have been listed in the last twelve months initiating a dividend recently are Warner Music Group (WMG), Carrier Global (CARR) and Otis Worldwide (OTIS).

Founded in 1996, Royalty Pharma is the largest buyer of biopharmaceutical royalties and a leading funder of innovation across the biopharmaceutical industry, collaborating with innovators from academic institutions, research hospitals and not-for-profits through small and mid-cap biotechnology companies to leading global pharmaceutical companies. Royalty Pharma has assembled a portfolio of royalties which entitles it to payments based directly on the top-line sales of many of the industry’s leading therapies. Royalty Pharma funds innovation in the biopharmaceutical industry both directly and indirectly - directly when it partners with companies to co-fund late-stage clinical trials and new product launches in exchange for future royalties, and indirectly when it acquires existing royalties from the original innovators. Royalty Pharma’s current portfolio includes royalties on more than 45 commercial products, including AbbVie and J&J’s Imbruvica, Astellas and Pfizer’s Xtandi, Biogen’s Tysabri, Gilead’s HIV franchise, Merck’s Januvia, Novartis’ Promacta, and Vertex’s Kalydeco, Symdeko and Trikafta, and four development-stage product candidates. Royalty Pharma became publicly listed on June 16, 2020.