Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. Purchases New Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 21,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Banco Santander S.A. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 16,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after buying an additional 920 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth about $1,047,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $748,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth about $1,505,000. Finally, Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 11,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ AZN opened at $77.50 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $240.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.29, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $62.75 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $70.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. As a group, analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.15%.

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.