National Bank of Canada FI Has $11.65 Million Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 177,813 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,484 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $11,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at about $754,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its position 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 period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 1,949 shares during the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 143,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,433,000 after purchasing an additional 7,341 shares during the period. Finally, Asio Capital LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 53,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,508,000 after purchasing an additional 5,569 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AZN shares. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 7.4 %

AZN opened at $68.46 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49. 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 12 month low of $62.75 and a 12 month high of $87.68.

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

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

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.