Americana Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Americana Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 50.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,722 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,309 shares during the quarter. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.1% during 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. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after buying an additional 1,522,715 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,011,037,000 after buying an additional 466,416 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 5.3% during 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 during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its position 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. One equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $73.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $68.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.34. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $61.77 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.18 billion, a PE ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted 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 32.55%. On average, equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders 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 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 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.