Edge Capital Group LLC Has $9.43 Million Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Edge Capital Group LLC cut its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 143,842 shares of the company’s stock after selling 168 shares during the period. Edge Capital Group LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $9,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AZN shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $74.20 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 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. The business has a fifty day moving average of $68.76 and a 200 day moving average of $73.17. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $62.75 and a 1 year high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released 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 net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. As a group, research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is currently 43.36%.

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.