Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Bought by Clark Capital Management Group Inc.

Key Points

• Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its AstraZeneca stake by 94.2% in Q3, buying 627,971 shares to hold 1,294,484 shares valued at about $99.31 million.
• Several other large institutions also raised positions—Bank of Montreal (+344.6% to 3.48M shares), Fayez Sarofim, Raymond James and Bank of America among them—and institutional investors now own roughly 20.35% of AZN.
• AstraZeneca declared a $1.595 per share dividend payable March 23 (record/ex-dividend date Feb 20) and reported a payout ratio of 66.26%.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 94.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,294,484 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 627,971 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $99,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AZN. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 344.6% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,478,114 shares of the company's stock valued at $266,841,000 after buying an additional 2,695,793 shares during the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 173.4% during the second quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 3,745,902 shares of the company's stock worth $261,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376,032 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 64.8% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,783,251 shares of the company's stock worth $264,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487,662 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,503,614,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461,786 shares during the period. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca in the 2nd quarter valued at $96,936,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $190.20 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $294.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.04, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.94. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1 year low of $122.48 and a 1 year high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.595 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 156.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. Astrazeneca's payout ratio is 66.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Astrazeneca from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "sell" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.75.

Astrazeneca Profile

AstraZeneca plc is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.

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