Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 960,518 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Primecap Management Co. CA cut its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,019,527 shares of the company's stock after selling 960,518 shares during the quarter. AstraZeneca comprises 2.1% of Primecap Management Co. CA's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Primecap Management Co. CA owned approximately 1.32% of AstraZeneca worth $2,687,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at about $158,018,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 109.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company's stock valued at $238,397,000 after acquiring an additional 1,605,758 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company's stock worth $1,492,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522,715 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 15,819.8% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,179,018 shares of the company's stock worth $77,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the third quarter valued at approximately $72,437,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AZN. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.75.

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AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZN traded down $1.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $74.93. The stock had a trading volume of 5,172,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,940,223. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $72.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.19. The stock has a market cap 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $62.75 and a twelve month high of $87.68.

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 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

AstraZeneca Company 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.