Center for Financial Planning Inc. Grows Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Center for Financial Planning Inc. boosted its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 57.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,057 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $69,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,801,080,000 after purchasing an additional 258,477 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,715 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,011,037,000 after purchasing an additional 466,416 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $816,509,000 after purchasing an additional 524,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AZN shares. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN stock opened at $73.58 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $61.77 and a 52-week high of $87.68. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted 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 32.55% and a net margin of 13.01%. Equities research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.36%.

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.