Fisher Asset Management LLC Purchases 479,692 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,959,852 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 479,692 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 0.35% of AstraZeneca worth $718,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 109.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,397,000 after acquiring an additional 1,605,758 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522,715 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at $72,437,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 6,835.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 708,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,389,000 after acquiring an additional 697,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN opened at $76.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $236.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $69.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.07. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $62.75 and a 1 year high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. As a group, analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a yield of 2%. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is currently 91.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.