F M Investments LLC Has $1.45 Million Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

F M Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 26.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,082 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,616 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 9,985.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,707,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,444,000 after buying an additional 3,670,719 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $158,018,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,522,715 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,101,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,179,000 after buying an additional 1,222,669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 15,819.8% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,179,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,249,000 after buying an additional 1,171,612 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $66.29 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.88. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $61.24 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The firm has a market cap of $205.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a dividend 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 currently 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.