Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC Takes Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 55.1% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $793,000 after acquiring an additional 4,249 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 22.0% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,466,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $495,328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343,939 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its position in AstraZeneca by 102.7% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 525 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in AstraZeneca by 2.8% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. HSBC began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Monday, December 18th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $67.75. The company had a trading volume of 3,617,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,747,159. The firm has a market cap of $210.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.29, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.64. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $76.56. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.82.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.19% and a net margin of 13.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.965 per share. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.52%.

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.