Boston Partners Has $243.44 Million Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Boston Partners raised its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 9,985.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,707,479 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,670,719 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned approximately 0.12% of AstraZeneca worth $243,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.3% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,705,757 shares of the company's stock valued at $210,806,000 after acquiring an additional 35,000 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 84,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,584,000 after purchasing an additional 9,795 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the third quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.5% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 347,234 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,053,000 after buying an additional 11,703 shares during the period. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 9.6% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 103,247 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,044,000 after buying an additional 9,080 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded down $1.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $74.93. 5,172,806 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,941,375. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.16, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.00. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $62.75 and a twelve month high of $87.68.

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AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This is an increase from AstraZeneca's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $89.75.

About AstraZeneca

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.