AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Acquired by Crumly & Associates Inc.

Crumly & Associates Inc. increased its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,083 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $464,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AZN. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT grew its position in AstraZeneca by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in AstraZeneca by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 543,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 101,225 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in AstraZeneca by 2,618.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $74.56 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $62.75 and a one year high of $87.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $68.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.30. The stock has a market cap of $231.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.99, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.15%.

AstraZeneca Company 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.