Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp Purchases New Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp acquired a new position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $343,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted 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 worth $1,801,080,000 after purchasing an additional 258,477 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 466,416 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $816,509,000 after acquiring an additional 524,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 3,745,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,407,000 after acquiring an additional 564,297 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $71.99 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $223.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. On average, analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $1.03 dividend. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.36%.

AstraZeneca Company 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.