Henry James International Management Inc. Increases Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Henry James International Management Inc. increased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 44.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 30,832 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,506 shares during the period. Henry James International Management Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,077,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TCG Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. TCG Advisory Services LLC now owns 50,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,432,000 after buying an additional 12,110 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 26,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 2,118 shares during the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 489,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,955,000 after purchasing an additional 80,148 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth about $539,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,620,000 after purchasing an additional 5,362 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

NASDAQ:AZN traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $76.35. The stock had a trading volume of 9,026,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,666,863. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.47. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $60.47 and a one year high of $76.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

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

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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