Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Increases Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 60.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,355 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,809 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. FMR LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company's stock worth $1,801,080,000 after purchasing an additional 258,477 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company's stock worth $1,492,649,000 after buying an additional 1,522,715 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,011,037,000 after buying an additional 466,416 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,959,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $718,090,000 after buying an additional 479,692 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 3,745,531 shares of the company's stock worth $245,407,000 after acquiring an additional 564,297 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.2 %

AstraZeneca stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $72.84. 4,563,181 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,954,411. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $62.75 and a one year high of $87.68. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $73.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $225.89 billion, a PE ratio of 32.23, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last released 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 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 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost from AstraZeneca's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.15%.

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.