Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Buys 6,277 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 59,229 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,277 shares during the quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $3,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Syon Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 18,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,277,000 after buying an additional 2,954 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 33,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,229,000 after buying an additional 10,647 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 5,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 54,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,680,000 after acquiring an additional 3,520 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 1,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 5.4 %

AZN stock traded up $3.83 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $75.03. 15,604,474 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,258,403. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $75.81. The company has a market cap of $232.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $67.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 30.19%. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.965 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

AstraZeneca 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.