Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Raises Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 35,300 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AZN. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 608 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 543,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 101,225 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 2,618.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $77.50 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $70.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.74. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $62.75 and a twelve 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 company has a market cap of $240.34 billion, a PE ratio of 34.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is currently 91.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

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.