Quadrant Capital Group LLC Raises Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,822 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at $754,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 1,949 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 143,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,433,000 after purchasing an additional 7,341 shares during the period. Finally, Asio Capital LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 53,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,508,000 after purchasing an additional 5,569 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

AstraZeneca Trading Down 7.4 %

Shares of AZN stock opened at $68.46 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $62.75 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $73.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.31 billion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a yield of 2%. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio 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.