Van ECK Associates Corp Has $30.11 Million Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 459,560 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,768 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $30,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 109.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605,758 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522,715 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at $72,437,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised 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 valued at $245,407,000 after acquiring an additional 564,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $816,509,000 after acquiring an additional 524,175 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of AZN opened at $73.58 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $61.77 and a 52-week high of $87.68. The business’s fifty day moving average is $67.96 and its 200-day moving average is $73.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $228.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.56, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) 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 32.55%. Equities analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a yield of 2%. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is currently 43.36%.

About AstraZeneca

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.