AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Holdings Increased by Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC.

Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. increased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 21.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,836 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the period. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,705,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,806,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 268.9% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 60,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,723,000 after buying an additional 44,189 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 6.0% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 11,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $881,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its position in AstraZeneca by 174.9% in the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 12,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 8,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 191,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,939,000 after acquiring an additional 5,589 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $74.69 on Tuesday. 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 $231.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46. 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 $68.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.12.

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. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

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.