Manning & Napier Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Manning & Napier Group LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 281.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,779,212 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,050,064 shares during the period. AstraZeneca comprises about 2.2% of Manning & Napier Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Manning & Napier Group LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $187,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 4,875.0% during the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. HSBC initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Monday, December 18th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of AZN traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $67.75. The company had a trading volume of 3,617,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,747,159. The company has a market capitalization of $210.05 billion, a PE ratio of 35.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $60.47 and a one year high of $76.56. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $65.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.82.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.19% and a net margin of 13.00%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

AstraZeneca 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.