Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Acquires 5,809 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 60.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,355 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,809 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 94,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,161,000 after purchasing an additional 7,834 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 30,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,026,000 after acquiring an additional 8,154 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 4,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 912 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 148,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,707,000 after acquiring an additional 6,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 50,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,336,000 after acquiring an additional 3,917 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $74.93 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.16, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. Analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.