AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Stock Holdings Cut by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. lowered its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 127,071 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,914 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $8,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 49,492,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,351,653,000 after purchasing an additional 358,399 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.2% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 22,946,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,553,937,000 after buying an additional 1,139,295 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter worth $715,198,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,242,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,294,000 after acquiring an additional 201,104 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,274,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,778,000 after acquiring an additional 48,524 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AstraZeneca stock traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.20. The company had a trading volume of 6,132,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,141,770. The company has a market cap of $220.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.50. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $76.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.19% and a net margin of 13.00%. The business had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.965 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. This represents a yield of 2.3%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

AstraZeneca Company 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.