AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Bought by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 41.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,275 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,465 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter worth $158,018,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in AstraZeneca by 109.6% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,397,000 after acquiring an additional 1,605,758 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522,715 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter valued at about $72,437,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 6,835.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 708,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,389,000 after purchasing an additional 697,801 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AZN. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $76.32 on Thursday. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $62.75 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $236.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41.

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

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

AstraZeneca 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.