Guardian Capital LP grew its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN – Get Rating) by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,970 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,354 shares during the quarter. Guardian Capital LP's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $3,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 48.3% during the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,530,755 shares of the company's stock worth $1,686,816,000 after buying an additional 8,319,805 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 105,084.2% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 4,845,834 shares of the company's stock worth $266,085,000 after purchasing an additional 4,841,227 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 407.1% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,093,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,553,000 after acquiring an additional 3,286,137 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,096,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,129,543,000 after acquiring an additional 1,718,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter valued at $100,592,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.42% of the company's stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AstraZeneca stock traded down $1.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $66.37. 4,530,051 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,060,980. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $52.65 and a fifty-two week high of $72.12. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.72 billion, a PE ratio of 62.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.51.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.985 per share. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.47. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 23rd. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 180.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from £120 ($144.51) to £130 ($156.55) in a research note on Thursday, December 15th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, January 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from £101 ($121.63) to £119 ($143.30) in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from £125 ($150.53) to £135 ($162.57) in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from GBX 118 ($1.42) to GBX 126 ($1.52) in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10,825.11.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

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AstraZeneca Plc is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, and manufacture of pharmaceutical products. It focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of prescription medicines in Oncology and BioPharmaceuticals, including Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, and Respiratory & Immunology.

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