Guardian Partners Inc. Buys Shares of 47,564 AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 47,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,167,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,801,080,000 after buying an additional 258,477 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after buying an additional 1,522,715 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,011,037,000 after buying an additional 466,416 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,959,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $718,090,000 after buying an additional 479,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 3,745,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,407,000 after buying an additional 564,297 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 2.1 %

AZN opened at $74.93 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $72.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $232.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.16, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $62.75 and a one year high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. Analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business 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 boost 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%.

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.