Channing Global Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Channing Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 74.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,231 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,367 shares during the quarter. Channing Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in AstraZeneca by 109.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,397,000 after buying an additional 1,605,758 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter valued at about $72,437,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 17.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 524,175 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ AZN opened at $72.73 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $225.54 billion, a PE ratio of 32.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.48. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.55%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.66 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six 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 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.