AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Acquired by Howe & Rusling Inc.

Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 30.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 156,465 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,653 shares during the quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $10,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cibc World Markets Corp increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 12,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $845,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Veery Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Veery Capital LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 10,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 3,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $72.72 on Thursday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $62.75 and a 12 month high of $87.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $225.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $73.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.78.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released 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 net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. On average, equities analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. 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.