Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 149.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,740 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 24,378 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in AstraZeneca by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 256,610 shares of the company's stock worth $16,813,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 5,630 shares of the company's stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at $58,821,000. Capital International Inc. CA boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 292,317 shares of the company's stock worth $19,153,000 after acquiring an additional 29,504 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,322,388 shares of the company's stock valued at $348,730,000 after buying an additional 636,537 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms recently commented on AZN. Morgan Stanley began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.80.
Get Our Latest Analysis on AZN
AstraZeneca Stock Up 1.5 %
Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $69.55. 3,432,007 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,217,045. The company has a market cap of $215.69 billion, a PE ratio of 30.77, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $61.24 and a 12 month high of $87.68. 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 fifty day moving average price of $72.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.30.
AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.
AstraZeneca Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a yield of 2%. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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