Boston Partners Has $243.44 Million Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Boston Partners raised its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 9,985.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,707,479 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,670,719 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $243,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 68.9% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 22.9% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 543,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 101,225 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 2,618.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $77.07 on Wednesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $62.75 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The firm has a market cap of $239.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released 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 net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.