Oakworth Capital Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,399 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 592 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 51.8% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 14,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $977,000 after purchasing an additional 4,919 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 113.0% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 95,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,444,000 after acquiring an additional 50,750 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 317.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,242,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,136,000 after acquiring an additional 944,765 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 163,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,979,000 after purchasing an additional 49,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca during the third quarter valued at about $2,241,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.5 %

AZN traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,590,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,191,058. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $76.56. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $65.98 and its 200-day moving average is $65.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.55, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.50. 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 (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.19% and a net margin of 13.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.965 dividend. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.00.

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.