HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 94,039 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,834 shares during the quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $6,161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 35.8% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 30,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,026,000 after buying an additional 8,154 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 4,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 148,153 shares of the company's stock worth $9,707,000 after purchasing an additional 6,914 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 50,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,336,000 after purchasing an additional 3,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 82,617 shares of the company's stock worth $5,413,000 after buying an additional 12,811 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AZN shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $89.75.
Read Our Latest Analysis on AZN
AstraZeneca Stock Down 1.1 %
Shares of AZN traded down $0.84 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $74.09. The stock had a trading volume of 3,740,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,936,572. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $62.75 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74.
AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. Sell-side analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.
AstraZeneca Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is an increase from AstraZeneca's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a yield of 2%. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio is presently 91.15%.
AstraZeneca Company Profile
(
Free Report)
AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company's marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.
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