AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Holdings Raised by Henry James International Management Inc.

Henry James International Management Inc. boosted its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 44.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,832 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,506 shares during the period. Henry James International Management Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 375.6% during the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN stock traded up $0.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $76.35. 9,026,349 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,666,863. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $236.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.47. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $76.80. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.34.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. The company had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given 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 yield of 2.3%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is presently 94.61%.

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.