Fiduciary Group LLC Increases Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Fiduciary Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 317.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,505 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 32,330 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 49,492,814 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,351,653,000 after buying an additional 358,399 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.2% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 22,946,504 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,937,000 after buying an additional 1,139,295 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the third quarter valued at approximately $715,198,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.0% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,242,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $287,294,000 after buying an additional 201,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,274,928 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,778,000 after buying an additional 48,524 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $75.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,687,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,718,667. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $75.81. The business's 50-day moving average price is $67.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.05. The stock has a market cap of $233.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.01). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.34% and a net margin of 13.30%. The firm had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.965 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from AstraZeneca's previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio is 94.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of AstraZeneca from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.00.

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.