Cinctive Capital Management LP Acquires 39,718 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Cinctive Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 88.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 84,653 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,718 shares during the period. Cinctive Capital Management LP’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $5,546,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 12,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $845,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Veery Capital LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Veery Capital LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its position in AstraZeneca by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 10,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its position in AstraZeneca by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 35,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,313,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AZN. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $72.22 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.96, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $73.86 and a 200 day moving average of $71.54. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $62.75 and a 52 week 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.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is 91.15%.

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.