Flputnam Investment Management Co. Has $19.24 Million Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 23.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 293,574 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,259 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $19,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,801,080,000 after acquiring an additional 258,477 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised 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 worth $1,492,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,715 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,011,037,000 after purchasing an additional 466,416 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $816,509,000 after purchasing an additional 524,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $245,407,000 after buying an additional 564,297 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.7 %

AZN stock opened at $76.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $62.75 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The business has a 50-day moving average of $69.75 and a 200-day moving average of $73.07.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released 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 return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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%. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AZN. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

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.