Jones Financial Companies Lllp Purchases 3,066 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 23.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,228 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,066 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 983 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 149,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,766,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 57.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 14,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $939,000 after purchasing an additional 5,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 239,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,675,000 after purchasing an additional 6,814 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $77.50 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 52-week low of $62.75 and a 52-week high of $87.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $70.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.88. The stock has a market cap of $240.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

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.