Eagle Strategies LLC Has $376,000 Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Eagle Strategies LLC cut its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 36.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,735 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,336 shares during the quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,507,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,457,706,000 after purchasing an additional 686,008 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,480,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,276,367,000 after purchasing an additional 357,894 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,011,037,000 after purchasing an additional 466,416 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 15,186,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $995,032,000 after buying an additional 212,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,959,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $718,090,000 after buying an additional 479,692 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 1.8 %

AZN stock opened at $70.51 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $72.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $13.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is 91.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AZN. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.00.

About AstraZeneca

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.