Simmons Bank Has $1.56 Million Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Simmons Bank boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 429.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,134 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,765 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter worth $715,198,000. Manning & Napier Group LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 281.2% during the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 2,779,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,180,000 after buying an additional 2,050,064 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 22,946,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,937,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139,295 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 346.3% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,420,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,696,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102,490 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 317.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,242,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,136,000 after acquiring an additional 944,765 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $76.32. 6,659,937 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,361,413. The company has a market cap of $236.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $60.47 and a one year high of $76.80.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.01). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The business had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.965 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.00.

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.