National Bank of Canada FI Has $11.65 Million Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 177,813 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,484 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $11,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AZN. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,480,569 shares of the company's stock worth $1,276,367,000 after purchasing an additional 357,894 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,011,037,000 after purchasing an additional 466,416 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 period. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 9,985.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,707,479 shares of the company's stock valued at $243,444,000 after buying an additional 3,670,719 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

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AstraZeneca Trading Down 4.7 %

AZN stock traded down $3.12 during trading on Thursday, hitting $63.64. The company had a trading volume of 4,110,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,251,755. The stock has a market cap of $197.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.18, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $73.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.04. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $61.24 and a 12 month high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. As a group, analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. This is an increase from AstraZeneca's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio is 91.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AZN. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Profile

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.