Meitav Investment House Ltd. Buys 205,000 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Meitav Investment House Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 616.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 238,270 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 205,000 shares during the period. Meitav Investment House Ltd.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $15,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 109.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605,758 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after buying an additional 1,522,715 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the third quarter valued at approximately $72,437,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 3,745,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,407,000 after acquiring an additional 564,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $816,509,000 after acquiring an additional 524,175 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $73.81 on Thursday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $62.75 and a 52-week high of $87.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.66, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.29.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. Analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on AZN shares. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

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.