Parnassus Investments LLC Increases Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 15,819.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,179,018 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,171,612 shares during the quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $77,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 1.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,801,080,000 after acquiring an additional 258,477 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,492,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,715 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,011,037,000 after purchasing an additional 466,416 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,959,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $718,090,000 after purchasing an additional 479,692 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 17.7% in 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $76.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $237.27 billion, a PE ratio of 33.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $71.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.54. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $62.75 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.