Truist Financial Corp Grows Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 243,690 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,289 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $16,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in AstraZeneca by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 105,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,144,000 after purchasing an additional 10,103 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 34.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 8,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 2,061 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 13,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $938,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 671 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 5,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 921 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AZN. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $75.88 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $67.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.16. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $76.58. The firm has a market cap of $235.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.50.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. The firm had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

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.