Natixis Advisors L.P. Grows Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,250,618 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 78,286 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $84,229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AZN. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,209 shares of the company's stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 61,866 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,167,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 7,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,911 shares of the company's stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 4,724 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN traded up $0.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $76.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,026,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,367,026. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $68.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.30. The company has a market capitalization of $236.72 billion, a PE ratio of 37.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.89. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $76.80.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. The business's revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

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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