AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 808,547 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100,629 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $52,968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boston Partners increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 9,985.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,707,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,444,000 after acquiring an additional 3,670,719 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at $158,018,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,492,649,000 after buying an additional 1,522,715 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,101,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,179,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222,669 shares during the period. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 15,819.8% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,179,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,612 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of AZN opened at $66.29 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $61.24 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $73.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued 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 net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. Analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have 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 research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, 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.