Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,643,010 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 198,977 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co owned about 0.12% of AstraZeneca worth $238,690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 32,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,105,000 after buying an additional 4,485 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 15,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 3,302 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 149.0% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 40,740 shares of the company's stock worth $2,669,000 after purchasing an additional 24,378 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 256,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,813,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norinchukin Bank The boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 5,630 shares of the company's stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $86.80.
Get Our Latest Analysis on AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.0 %
AstraZeneca stock traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $69.57. The company had a trading volume of 6,662,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,223,437. The firm's fifty day moving average is $72.43 and its 200-day moving average is $70.30. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49.
AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.
AstraZeneca Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from AstraZeneca's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a yield of 2%. AstraZeneca's payout ratio is 91.15%.
About AstraZeneca
(
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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