Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 164,671 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,871 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $10,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company's stock worth $1,801,080,000 after buying an additional 258,477 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company's stock worth $1,492,649,000 after buying an additional 1,522,715 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company's stock worth $1,011,037,000 after buying an additional 466,416 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,959,852 shares of the company's stock worth $718,090,000 after buying an additional 479,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 3,745,531 shares of the company's stock worth $245,407,000 after buying an additional 564,297 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages recently issued reports on AZN. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.75.
Read Our Latest Analysis on AZN
AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.0 %
Shares of AstraZeneca stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $77.50. 7,022,104 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,679,263. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $240.34 billion, a PE ratio of 34.29, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $62.75 and a twelve month high of $87.68.
AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. Equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
AstraZeneca Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. This is a boost from AstraZeneca's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio is currently 91.15%.
AstraZeneca 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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