RNC Capital Management LLC Purchases 1,055 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

RNC Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,952 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,055 shares during the quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 55.1% in the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $793,000 after acquiring an additional 4,249 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,466,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $495,328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343,939 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its position in AstraZeneca by 102.7% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position in AstraZeneca by 2.8% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $719,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Monday, December 18th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

NASDAQ AZN opened at $68.26 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $211.63 billion, a PE ratio of 35.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.49. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $76.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.80.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 30.19%. AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.965 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.52%.

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.