Dillon & Associates Inc. Has $2 Million Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Dillon & Associates Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,272 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,578 shares during the period. Dillon & Associates Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 717,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,989,000 after purchasing an additional 132,398 shares in the last quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A now owns 8,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Guardian Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,167,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,482,000. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 122.4% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 2,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 2.1 %

AstraZeneca stock opened at $74.93 on Monday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $62.75 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.91.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its 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 return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. On average, analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business 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 $1.03 dividend. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio 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.