Signaturefd LLC Purchases 903 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,146 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 903 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $3,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AZN. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth about $158,018,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 109.6% during 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 last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 15,819.8% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,179,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $72,437,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $77.60 on Monday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $62.75 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The company has a market capitalization of $240.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.34, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.27. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. 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 research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. One 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 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.