GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases Shares of 2,940 AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 49,492,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,351,653,000 after buying an additional 358,399 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.2% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 22,946,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,937,000 after buying an additional 1,139,295 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the third quarter valued at about $715,198,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in AstraZeneca by 5.0% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,242,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,294,000 after purchasing an additional 201,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in AstraZeneca by 1.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,274,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,778,000 after purchasing an additional 48,524 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ AZN opened at $75.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $233.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.85, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $67.27 and a 200-day moving average of $66.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $75.81.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.34% and a net margin of 13.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.965 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports 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. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

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.