New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $13.24 Million Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 23.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 196,563 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,214 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $13,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 375.6% during the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the period. LWM Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $75.48 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $67.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.10. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $76.58. The firm has a market cap of $234.02 billion, a PE ratio of 37.00, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. The firm 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 company earned $0.69 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.965 per share. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AZN shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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 note on Tuesday, April 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.00.

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.