AXQ Capital LP Acquires 9,524 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

AXQ Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 152.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,768 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,524 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,801,080,000 after buying an additional 258,477 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,715 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,011,037,000 after purchasing an additional 466,416 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,959,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $718,090,000 after buying an additional 479,692 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 3,745,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,407,000 after buying an additional 564,297 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $74.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $62.75 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $72.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.37 billion, a PE ratio of 33.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. One research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

About AstraZeneca

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.