Scotia Capital Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 43.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 231,797 shares of the company's stock after selling 181,745 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $15,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AZN. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 357,894 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.1% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,959,852 shares of the company's stock worth $718,090,000 after purchasing an additional 479,692 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $245,407,000 after buying an additional 564,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 9,985.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,707,479 shares of the company's stock worth $243,444,000 after buying an additional 3,670,719 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. One investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $89.75.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on AZN
AstraZeneca Stock Up 2.6 %
Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded up $1.72 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $68.01. The company had a trading volume of 5,939,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,249,754. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.91 billion, a PE ratio of 30.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $61.24 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock's 50 day moving average is $73.35 and its 200-day moving average is $70.83.
AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
AstraZeneca Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed 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 is a positive change from AstraZeneca's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. AstraZeneca's payout ratio is presently 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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