SIH Partners LLLP Purchases New Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

SIH Partners LLLP bought a new stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,949 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $783,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AZN. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at $254,018,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 9,985.6% during the fourth 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. purchased a new position in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth about $158,018,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company's stock worth $1,492,649,000 after buying an additional 1,522,715 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,101,025 shares of the company's stock worth $203,179,000 after buying an additional 1,222,669 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.0 %

AZN traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $69.57. 6,662,575 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,175,220. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $61.24 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $72.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.16. The firm has a market cap of $215.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. As a group, analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from AstraZeneca's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio is 91.15%.

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.