Capital International Inc. CA Acquires 29,504 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Capital International Inc. CA grew its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 292,317 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,504 shares during the quarter. Capital International Inc. CA's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $19,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AZN. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at about $754,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company's stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the company's stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949 shares in the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 143,973 shares of the company's stock worth $9,433,000 after buying an additional 7,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asio Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 53,541 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,508,000 after buying an additional 5,569 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $69.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,431,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,220,712. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $72.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.35. The company has a market capitalization of $215.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49. 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 PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a yield of 2%. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $86.80.

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.