Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Increases Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 47.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,101 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,647 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 49,492,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,351,653,000 after purchasing an additional 358,399 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 22,946,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,937,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139,295 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at $715,198,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,242,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,294,000 after acquiring an additional 201,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,274,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,778,000 after acquiring an additional 48,524 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $75.48 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $67.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.00, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $76.58.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AZN shares. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Three equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

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.