Truist Financial Corp Has $15.98 Million Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Truist Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 243,923 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,517 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $15,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN opened at $73.81 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $228.89 billion, a PE ratio of 32.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $68.45 and a 200-day moving average of $73.29. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $62.75 and a 52-week high of $87.68. 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 released 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 return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is 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.