Todd Asset Management LLC Has $32.96 Million Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Todd Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 19.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 489,310 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 80,148 shares during the quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $32,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 375.6% during the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 428 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN stock traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $76.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,026,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,666,863. The stock has a market cap of $236.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.43, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.47. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $76.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $68.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.36.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.965 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.61%.

AstraZeneca Company 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.