Procyon Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Procyon Advisors LLC grew its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 310.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,112 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,970 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AZN. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the third quarter valued at approximately $715,198,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $254,290,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 407.1% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,093,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,553,000 after purchasing an additional 3,286,137 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 683.3% in the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,814,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,222,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $693,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561,194 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded down $0.30 during trading on Thursday, reaching $67.96. The stock had a trading volume of 535,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,281,075. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $76.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $65.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.80. The company has a market cap of $210.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.55, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.49.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.01). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 30.19%. The firm had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.965 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is presently 100.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AZN shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, HSBC started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Monday, December 18th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.00.

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.