Covenant Partners LLC Has $677,000 Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Covenant Partners LLC decreased its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 25.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,340 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,585 shares during the quarter. Covenant Partners LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $677,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 68.9% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 608 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $72.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $223.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, 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. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $71.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.88.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.06 earnings per share. AstraZeneca's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

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.

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