Zions Bancorporation N.A. Buys 6,775 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 54.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,107 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,775 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 9,985.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,707,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,444,000 after purchasing an additional 3,670,719 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $158,018,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 109.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,397,000 after buying an additional 1,605,758 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 15,819.8% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,179,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,249,000 after buying an additional 1,171,612 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN stock opened at $73.05 on Wednesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $62.75 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. Analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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