Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Acquires Shares of 160,124 AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 160,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,491,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at $254,018,000. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 9,985.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,707,479 shares of the company's stock worth $243,444,000 after buying an additional 3,670,719 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $158,018,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,101,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $203,179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222,669 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN stock traded down $0.19 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,039,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,120,850. 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 fifty day moving average is $71.83 and its 200-day moving average is $69.88. The company has a market capitalization of $217.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $61.24 and a 1 year high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.06 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect 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 issued a $1.03 dividend. This is an increase from AstraZeneca's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca's payout ratio is currently 82.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on AZN. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One 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.com, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target 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.