AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Acquired by NewEdge Advisors LLC

NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 32.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 72,468 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,721 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $4,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 12,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $845,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Veery Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Veery Capital LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Tiller Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Tiller Private Wealth Inc. now owns 3,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 35,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,313,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $86.80.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of AZN opened at $67.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $61.24 and a one year high of $87.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $72.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.51. The company has a market capitalization of $209.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 91.15%.

AstraZeneca Profile

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.