Mackenzie Financial Corp Has $20.44 Million Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Mackenzie Financial Corp reduced its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 303,533 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,002 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $20,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 51.8% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 14,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $977,000 after purchasing an additional 4,919 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 944,765 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 163,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,979,000 after acquiring an additional 49,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the third quarter valued at about $2,241,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ AZN opened at $68.36 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $66.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.64. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $76.56.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.01). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.19% and a net margin of 13.00%. The firm had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.02 EPS for the current 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 given 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 dividend yield of 2.3%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is currently 100.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AZN. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.