AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Purchased by Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 164,671 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,871 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $10,789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at about $754,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 1,949 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 143,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,433,000 after buying an additional 7,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asio Capital LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 53,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,508,000 after buying an additional 5,569 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $77.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $240.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.61 and a 200 day moving average of $72.88. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $62.75 and a 12 month high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. 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 business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a yield of 2%. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.15%.

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.