M&T Bank Corp Sells 7,931 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

M&T Bank Corp decreased its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 243,178 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,931 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $15,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,801,080,000 after purchasing an additional 258,477 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,492,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,715 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,011,037,000 after acquiring an additional 466,416 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,959,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $718,090,000 after acquiring an additional 479,692 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 3,745,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,407,000 after acquiring an additional 564,297 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AZN. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $77.96 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $70.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.84. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $62.75 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.77 billion, a PE ratio of 34.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41.

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

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a yield of 2%. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.15%.

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.