AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Acquired by MONECO Advisors LLC

MONECO Advisors LLC grew its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 24.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,497 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 686 shares during the quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AZN. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 68.9% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 608 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 22.9% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 543,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 101,225 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2,618.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 734 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $75.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $69.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $233.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.36, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46. 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 1 year low of $62.75 and a 1 year high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is 91.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca 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.