Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 98.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,474 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter worth approximately $754,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 143,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,433,000 after purchasing an additional 7,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asio Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 53,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,508,000 after purchasing an additional 5,569 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AZN. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 7.4 %

AstraZeneca stock opened at $68.46 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $73.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.43. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $62.75 and a 52-week high of $87.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. 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.