HighTower Advisors LLC Increases Stake in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 3.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 958,235 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,957 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $73,515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 41,200,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,879,062,000 after acquiring an additional 538,606 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.9% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,298,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,488,332,000 after purchasing an additional 196,401 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.6% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,695,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,446,235,000 after purchasing an additional 530,520 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 15.2% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 12,167,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $850,255,000 after buying an additional 1,605,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,046,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,734,000 after buying an additional 104,625 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AZN. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $205.47 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $122.48 and a 1-year high of $206.71. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $318.66 billion, a PE ratio of 68.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.34.

AstraZeneca Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a $1.595 dividend. This represents a yield of 165.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.83%.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca’s operations span research and development, large-scale manufacturing, and commercial distribution, with a presence in developed and emerging markets worldwide.

The company focuses on several core therapy areas including oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism (CVRM), respiratory and immunology, and rare diseases.