Mackenzie Financial Corp Grows Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 568,601 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,099 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $43,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 1.3% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 41,200,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,879,062,000 after buying an additional 538,606 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,298,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,488,332,000 after acquiring an additional 196,401 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,162,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,623,604,000 after acquiring an additional 466,745 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,805,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,517,000 after acquiring an additional 582,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,046,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,734,000 after acquiring an additional 104,625 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. HSBC restated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.75.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 0.7%

Astrazeneca stock opened at $192.05 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $122.48 and a 52-week high of $212.71. The company has a market cap of $297.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.32.

Astrazeneca Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a $1.595 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 156.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. Astrazeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.26%.

About Astrazeneca

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.