CENTRAL TRUST Co trimmed its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN – Get Rating) by 26.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,168 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,988 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 4,875.0% in the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 129.5% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 514 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the first quarter worth $28,000. Accurate Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 68.6% in the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 467 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.42% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have issued reports on AZN. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, January 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on AstraZeneca from GBX 118 ($1.47) to GBX 126 ($1.56) in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.00.
AstraZeneca Price Performance
AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 28.63% and a net margin of 7.42%. The business had revenue of $11.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.40 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 3.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.
AstraZeneca Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 24th were issued a $0.985 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 23rd. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.47. This represents a yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is currently 180.38%.
About AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca Plc is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company was founded on June 17, 1992 and is headquartered in Cambridge, the United Kingdom.
Featured Stories
- Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on AstraZeneca (AZN)
- MarketBeat Week in Review – 4/3 – 4/7
- Costco Sales Disappoint, Markets Are Missing This Upside Driver
- First Republic Bank Is A Speculative Play, Here’s Why
- The WD-40 Company Bottoms With Reversal In Sight
- 3 Low-Cost Stock ETFs That Are Crushing It This Year
Receive News & Ratings for AstraZeneca Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AstraZeneca and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
