AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Acquired by Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC

Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 30.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,748 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,992 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake 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. lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,492,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522,715 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.1% in 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 lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,959,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $718,090,000 after acquiring an additional 479,692 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 564,297 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ AZN opened at $77.60 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.38. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $62.75 and a 12 month high of $87.68. The company has a market capitalization of $240.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.34, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its 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 return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. Equities research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is currently 91.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Profile

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.