Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Has $204,000 Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC trimmed its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 83.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,916 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,575 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AZN. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,522,715 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter valued at about $72,437,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 6,835.8% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 708,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,389,000 after purchasing an additional 697,801 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 3,745,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,407,000 after purchasing an additional 564,297 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ AZN opened at $77.96 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $241.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.50, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $62.75 and a 12-month high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. Sell-side analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 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.