Quantbot Technologies LP Sells 57,962 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Quantbot Technologies LP lowered its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 74.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,814 shares of the company’s stock after selling 57,962 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,801,080,000 after purchasing an additional 258,477 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised 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 boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,011,037,000 after buying an additional 466,416 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 479,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 564,297 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $74.09 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $73.00 and a 200-day moving average of $71.84. The stock has a market cap of $229.77 billion, a PE ratio of 32.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. 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 PLC has a fifty-two week low of $62.75 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a yield of 2%. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AZN. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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.