AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp cut its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 303,533 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,002 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $20,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 51.8% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 14,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $977,000 after acquiring an additional 4,919 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 113.0% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 95,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,444,000 after purchasing an additional 50,750 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 317.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,242,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,136,000 after buying an additional 944,765 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 163,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,979,000 after buying an additional 49,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,241,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $68.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $211.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.60, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.50. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $76.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $66.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.87.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.19% and a net margin of 13.00%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.02 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.965 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is currently 100.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.00.

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.