Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC Purchases 22,556 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC grew its position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 89.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 47,878 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,556 shares during the period. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $4,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 344.6% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,478,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,841,000 after buying an additional 2,695,793 shares in the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its position in Astrazeneca by 173.4% during the second quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 3,745,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,764,000 after buying an additional 2,376,032 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,232,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807,565 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 64.8% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,783,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,503,614,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461,786 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:AZN opened at $197.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $305.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12-month low of $122.48 and a 12-month high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.595 per share. This represents a yield of 156.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. Astrazeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.75.

Astrazeneca Profile

AstraZeneca plc is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.