Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Increases Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 220.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,027,511 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,083,645 shares during the quarter. AstraZeneca makes up about 0.7% of Alyeska Investment Group L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned about 0.10% of AstraZeneca worth $198,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,507,159 shares of the company's stock worth $2,457,706,000 after purchasing an additional 686,008 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,480,569 shares of the company's stock worth $1,276,367,000 after acquiring an additional 357,894 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company's stock worth $1,011,037,000 after purchasing an additional 466,416 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 15,186,692 shares of the company's stock worth $995,032,000 after purchasing an additional 212,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in AstraZeneca by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,959,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $718,090,000 after purchasing an additional 479,692 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN traded down $0.19 on Wednesday, reaching $70.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,038,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,120,849. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $71.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $61.24 and a 12-month high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.14. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. The business had revenue of $13.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.06 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $1.03 dividend. This is a boost from AstraZeneca's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a yield of 2%. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.73%.

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.