AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Bought by Arete Wealth Advisors LLC

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 98.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,474 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Albion Financial Group UT grew its position in AstraZeneca by 68.9% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 608 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 543,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 101,225 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2,618.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 734 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report 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 data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $68.46 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $212.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50-day moving average is $73.96 and its 200-day moving average is $71.43. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $62.75 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released 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 net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. Equities research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.