Simmons Bank Raises Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Simmons Bank increased its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,753 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 679 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Pointe Capital Management LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. Pointe Capital Management LLC now owns 6,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares during the period. JFG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at $230,000. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL increased its position in AstraZeneca by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 477,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,267,000 after purchasing an additional 31,784 shares during the period. FourThought Financial Partners LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 89,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,887,000 after purchasing an additional 1,844 shares during the period. Finally, Hendley & Co. Inc. increased its position in AstraZeneca by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Hendley & Co. Inc. now owns 46,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,065,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $75.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $234.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $69.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.09. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $62.75 and a 12 month high of $87.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Company 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.