Patten Group Inc. Decreases Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Patten Group Inc. lowered its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,293 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,574 shares during the quarter. Patten Group Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $3,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the third quarter worth $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 692 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2,618.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 734 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.1 %

AZN opened at $76.10 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $62.75 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $69.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.86. 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 company has a market cap of $236.00 billion, a PE ratio of 33.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued 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 net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. Sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. 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 of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.15%.

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.