Mosaic Financial Group LLC Makes New $369,000 Investment in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Mosaic Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Boston Partners grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 9,985.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,707,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,444,000 after purchasing an additional 3,670,719 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter worth approximately $158,018,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,522,715 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,101,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,179,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 15,819.8% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,179,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,612 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $73.50 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $62.75 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $227.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.52, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. Analysts predict 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 was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 91.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AZN. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

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.