Rhumbline Advisers Buys 404 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 29,123 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 109.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605,758 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,492,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522,715 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter valued at $72,437,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 3,745,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,407,000 after purchasing an additional 564,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 5.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $816,509,000 after purchasing an additional 524,175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $76.10 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.86. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $62.75 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The company has a market capitalization of $236.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

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

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 91.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AZN shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

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.