AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Purchased by Altrius Capital Management Inc

Altrius Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 99,717 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,633 shares during the period. AstraZeneca accounts for about 1.9% of Altrius Capital Management Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Altrius Capital Management Inc’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $6,716,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 49,492,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,351,653,000 after purchasing an additional 358,399 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 5.2% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 22,946,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,553,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139,295 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter worth about $715,198,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in AstraZeneca by 5.0% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,242,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,294,000 after acquiring an additional 201,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in AstraZeneca by 1.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,274,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,778,000 after acquiring an additional 48,524 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of AZN stock traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $75.48. The company had a trading volume of 4,589,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,245,025. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.05. The company has a market capitalization of $234.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.89. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $76.56.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.965 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

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.