Nicholas Company Inc. Acquires 171,199 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Nicholas Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 17.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,161,009 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 171,199 shares during the period. AstraZeneca comprises approximately 1.2% of Nicholas Company Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Nicholas Company Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $76,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,705,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,806,000 after buying an additional 35,000 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 8,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $686,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 84,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,584,000 after buying an additional 9,795 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter worth $308,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 36.2% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 22,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,758,000 after buying an additional 5,999 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $77.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $62.75 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $240.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $71.86 and its 200 day moving average is $72.38.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. Research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.15%.

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.