AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Acquired by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 152.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,091 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,074 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AZN shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of AZN opened at $76.35 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $68.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.47. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $76.80.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. Analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

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.