Lincoln National Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Lincoln National Corp grew its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,726 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 7,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $474,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 78.8% during the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $403,000 after acquiring an additional 2,638 shares during the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 60,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,069,000 after purchasing an additional 2,633 shares during the last quarter. Henry James International Management Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 44.6% in the fourth quarter. Henry James International Management Inc. now owns 30,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,077,000 after purchasing an additional 9,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCG Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. TCG Advisory Services LLC now owns 50,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,432,000 after purchasing an additional 12,110 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN traded up $0.53 on Wednesday, reaching $76.85. 1,022,854 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,309,970. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $77.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.47.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.01). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. The company had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.965 dividend. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AZN shares. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.00.

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.