Phoenix Financial Ltd. increased its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 1,624.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,234,220 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,162,656 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $80,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 9,985.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,707,479 shares of the company's stock worth $243,444,000 after purchasing an additional 3,670,719 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth approximately $158,018,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the third 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. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,101,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $203,179,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 15,819.8% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,179,018 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,612 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $89.75.
Get Our Latest Report on AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca Stock Performance
AstraZeneca stock traded up $1.72 on Monday, reaching $68.01. 5,937,211 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,249,746. The stock has a market cap of $210.91 billion, a PE ratio of 30.09, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $73.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.83. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $61.24 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.
AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.
AstraZeneca Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost from AstraZeneca's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio is presently 91.15%.
AstraZeneca Company Profile
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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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