Todd Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 489,310 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 80,148 shares during the quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $32,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 113.0% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 95,677 shares of the company's stock worth $6,444,000 after purchasing an additional 50,750 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 51.8% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 14,424 shares of the company's stock valued at $977,000 after acquiring an additional 4,919 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 317.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,242,431 shares of the company's stock worth $84,136,000 after purchasing an additional 944,765 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 163,011 shares of the company's stock worth $10,979,000 after acquiring an additional 49,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the third quarter valued at $2,241,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AZN. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.7 %

AZN traded up $0.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $76.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,026,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,666,863. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $76.80. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $68.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $236.72 billion, a PE ratio of 37.43, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.47.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $12.02 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

AstraZeneca Company Profile

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.