CIBC Asset Management Inc Has $15.37 Million Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

CIBC Asset Management Inc cut its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 234,616 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,652 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $15,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 109.6% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605,758 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,492,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522,715 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter valued at about $72,437,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 3,745,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,407,000 after acquiring an additional 564,297 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca by 5.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $816,509,000 after purchasing an additional 524,175 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $73.58 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $61.77 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $228.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 13.01%. On average, research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.36%.

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.