William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 26,070 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

William Blair Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 45.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,174 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,070 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,801,080,000 after purchasing an additional 258,477 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted 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 valued at $1,492,649,000 after buying an additional 1,522,715 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in AstraZeneca by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,011,037,000 after buying an additional 466,416 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,959,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $718,090,000 after acquiring an additional 479,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 3,745,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,407,000 after acquiring an additional 564,297 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $76.32 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $236.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.77, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day moving average of $72.47 and a 200 day moving average of $72.16. 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.

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 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

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.