Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Makes New $188.48 Million Investment in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,416,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $188,476,000. AstraZeneca makes up about 2.1% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of AstraZeneca at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,151,177,000 after purchasing an additional 9,002,450 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 39.0% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,684,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $988,972,000 after buying an additional 4,122,965 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter valued at about $186,127,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at about $143,999,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca by 118.9% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,592,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951,591 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.8 %

AZN stock traded down $0.66 during trading on Friday, reaching $81.19. The stock had a trading volume of 3,078,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,345,006. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $78.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $251.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.12, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.45. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $82.01.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. AstraZeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Argus raised their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.00.

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.