Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Has $4.76 Million Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 72,620 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,397 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $4,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 109.6% in the third 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 last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,715 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $72,437,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 3,745,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,407,000 after buying an additional 564,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $816,509,000 after buying an additional 524,175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 1.0 %

AstraZeneca stock opened at $74.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $231.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.99, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.30. 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 fifty-two week low of $62.75 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current 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 issued a $1.03 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend payout ratio is 91.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

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.