Whittier Trust Co. Grows Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 35.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,916 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,154 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,026,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Blueshift Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 4,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 148,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,707,000 after purchasing an additional 6,914 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 50,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,336,000 after purchasing an additional 3,917 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 82,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,413,000 after purchasing an additional 12,811 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 34,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,245,000 after purchasing an additional 7,447 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $74.93 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $72.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.16, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $62.75 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 EPS 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

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.