Davidson Investment Advisors Acquires 2,096 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Davidson Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 227,775 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,096 shares during the quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors’ holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $14,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,801,080,000 after purchasing an additional 258,477 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,715 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,011,037,000 after purchasing an additional 466,416 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $816,509,000 after purchasing an additional 524,175 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 3,745,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,407,000 after purchasing an additional 564,297 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports 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 assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of AZN opened at $73.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.71. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $61.77 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.34. The firm has a market cap of $228.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 32.55%. On average, equities analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.36%.

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.