AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Bought by Axa S.A.

AXA S.A. increased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 469,644 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 46,452 shares during the period. AXA S.A.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $30,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AZN. AlTi Global Inc. acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth $206,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth $10,491,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 74.1% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 28,361 shares of the company's stock worth $1,858,000 after acquiring an additional 12,067 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Capital LP boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 58,951 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,862,000 after buying an additional 4,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 10,720 shares of the company's stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $70.07. 4,039,568 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,120,850. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.30 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company's 50-day moving average is $71.83 and its 200 day moving average is $69.88. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $61.24 and a 52 week high of $87.68.

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

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from AstraZeneca's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio is 82.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on AZN. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.00.

About AstraZeneca

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.