Truist Financial Corp Has $15.98 Million Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Truist Financial Corp lowered its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 243,923 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,517 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $15,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,801,080,000 after buying an additional 258,477 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,522,715 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,011,037,000 after buying an additional 466,416 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $816,509,000 after buying an additional 524,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 564,297 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $73.81 on Thursday. 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 $228.89 billion, a PE ratio of 32.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $62.75 and a one year high of $87.68. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.29.

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

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

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.