AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Bought by Telemus Capital LLC

Telemus Capital LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,534 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the period. Telemus Capital LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter worth $715,198,000. Manning & Napier Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 281.2% during the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 2,779,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,180,000 after buying an additional 2,050,064 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 22,946,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,553,937,000 after buying an additional 1,139,295 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 346.3% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,420,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,696,000 after buying an additional 1,102,490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 317.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,242,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,136,000 after buying an additional 944,765 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $70.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $217.43 billion, a PE ratio of 36.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.82. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $76.56.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.19% and a net margin of 13.00%. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.965 dividend. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a yield of 2.3%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AZN. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

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.