Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Acquires 2,234 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 38.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,023 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,234 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 113.0% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 95,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,444,000 after buying an additional 50,750 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 51.8% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 14,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,000 after purchasing an additional 4,919 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 317.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,242,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,136,000 after purchasing an additional 944,765 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 163,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,979,000 after purchasing an additional 49,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,241,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of AZN stock traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $75.88. 8,547,254 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,273,296. The business’s fifty day moving average is $67.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $76.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.50.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced 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 business had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.965 dividend. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Three 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.