Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Has $204,000 Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 83.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,916 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,575 shares during the quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth approximately $754,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949 shares during the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 143,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,433,000 after purchasing an additional 7,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asio Capital LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 53,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,508,000 after purchasing an additional 5,569 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AZN shares. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of AZN opened at $77.96 on Thursday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $62.75 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.50, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.39 and a 200-day moving average of $72.84.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 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 32.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a 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 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.