AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Stock Holdings Increased by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 148,153 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,914 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $9,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Group LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 50,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,336,000 after buying an additional 3,917 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 82,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,413,000 after buying an additional 12,811 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 34,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,245,000 after buying an additional 7,447 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 9,985.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,707,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,444,000 after buying an additional 3,670,719 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $76.32 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.16. 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 PLC has a 1-year low of $62.75 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.77, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41.

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 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, sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 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.