AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Position Cut by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 33.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,799 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,956 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

AstraZeneca Stock Up 2.7 %

AZN stock traded up $1.93 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $72.44. 5,374,416 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,139,605. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $61.24 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $72.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.98.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.14. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. The company had revenue of $13.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.06 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

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.