FourThought Financial Partners LLC Boosts Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC grew its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,422 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,633 shares during the quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $4,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 49,492,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,351,653,000 after buying an additional 358,399 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased 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 worth $1,553,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139,295 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at about $715,198,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,404,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,361,000 after purchasing an additional 233,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,242,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,294,000 after purchasing an additional 201,104 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded up $0.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $76.35. 9,026,349 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,666,863. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $68.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.36. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $76.80.

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 firm had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.42%. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.965 dividend. 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. This represents a yield of 2.3%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AZN shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.00.

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.