Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $2.02 Million Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 30,759 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,158 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AZN. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 9,985.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter worth approximately $158,018,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,101,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222,669 shares during the period. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,171,612 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AZN. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of AZN stock opened at $64.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $201.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $62.11 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $73.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.15.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted 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%. Research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

AstraZeneca 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.