Bank of Stockton Acquires 546 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Bank of Stockton grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,688 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 546 shares during the quarter. Bank of Stockton’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $307,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.1% during the third 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. grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,492,649,000 after buying an additional 1,522,715 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.1% during 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 grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $816,509,000 after purchasing an additional 524,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 3,745,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,407,000 after purchasing an additional 564,297 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $74.56 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.30. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $62.75 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $231.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46. 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 (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.