3,452 Shares in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Bought by New Republic Capital LLC

New Republic Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 2.0% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 6,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised 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 worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Veery Capital LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Veery Capital LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.9% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 8,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of AZN opened at $72.66 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $225.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly 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 32.55% and a net margin of 13.01%. On average, equities analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $1.03 dividend. This is a positive change 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 43.36%.

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.