Geode Capital Management LLC Has $32.68 Million Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 498,831 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,384 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $32,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 177,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,650,000 after purchasing an additional 19,484 shares in the last quarter. Mosaic Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $369,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,480,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,276,367,000 after buying an additional 357,894 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised 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 valued at $203,179,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,071,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 1.2 %

AZN stock opened at $67.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $73.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.72. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $61.24 and a 52-week high of $87.68. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AZN. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BNP Paribas started coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $86.80.

AstraZeneca 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.