AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Stock Position Increased by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 39.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 36,116 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,257 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,801,080,000 after purchasing an additional 258,477 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,522,715 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 3.1% in the 4th 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 lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 524,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $74.20 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $62.75 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $68.76 and its 200-day moving average is $73.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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