OLD National Bancorp IN Raises Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

OLD National Bancorp IN increased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 22.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,463 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,113 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $772,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 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 worth $3,351,653,000 after buying an additional 358,399 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.2% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter worth about $715,198,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,242,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,294,000 after buying an additional 201,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,274,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,778,000 after purchasing an additional 48,524 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of AZN opened at $70.85 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $66.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.92. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $76.56. The stock has a market cap of $219.67 billion, a PE ratio of 36.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 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 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). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 30.19%. The company had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4 EPS 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 100.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AZN. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.00.

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.