Scotia Capital Inc. Sells 181,745 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Scotia Capital Inc. lessened its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 43.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 231,797 shares of the company’s stock after selling 181,745 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $15,189,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 493,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,444,000 after buying an additional 1,269 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 4.1% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,086,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 15.5% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 17,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,408 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.8% during the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 10,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Resource Group bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at about $946,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $64.87 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $73.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. On average, equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.15%.

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.