Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Bought by Bank of Stockton

Bank of Stockton lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 91.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,063 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,325 shares during the quarter. Bank of Stockton’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AZN. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 344.6% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,478,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,841,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695,793 shares in the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 173.4% during the second quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 3,745,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376,032 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 41.8% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807,565 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 64.8% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,783,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 4.7% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,503,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461,786 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Astrazeneca stock opened at $202.85 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52 week low of $122.48 and a 52 week high of $212.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $314.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.35.

Astrazeneca Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th were given a $1.595 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. This represents a yield of 156.0%. Astrazeneca’s payout ratio is 66.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, February 6th. HSBC restated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.75.

About Astrazeneca

AstraZeneca plc is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.