AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Bought by Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas

Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas increased its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,424 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas’ holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 49,492,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,351,653,000 after buying an additional 358,399 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.2% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 22,946,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,553,937,000 after buying an additional 1,139,295 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $715,198,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in AstraZeneca by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,242,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,294,000 after acquiring an additional 201,104 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,274,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,778,000 after acquiring an additional 48,524 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 1.1 %

AZN stock traded up $0.79 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $70.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,154,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,119,368. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $66.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.89. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $76.56. The company has a market capitalization of $219.88 billion, a PE ratio of 36.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.50. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 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 analyst estimates of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.19% and a net margin of 13.00%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.965 per share. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. This represents a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.