FourThought Financial Partners LLC Buys 1,844 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,856 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,844 shares during the period. FourThought Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $5,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AZN. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,801,080,000 after acquiring an additional 258,477 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 8.7% in 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 grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,011,037,000 after acquiring an additional 466,416 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 524,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 3,745,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,407,000 after purchasing an additional 564,297 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ AZN opened at $74.69 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $68.92 and a 200-day moving average of $73.12. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $62.75 and a 12 month high of $87.68. The company has a market cap of $231.63 billion, a PE ratio of 33.05, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

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.