Wealth Alliance Purchases 2,300 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Wealth Alliance lifted its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,012 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in AstraZeneca in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 4,875.0% during the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AZN. Morgan Stanley began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $68.27 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $65.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.83. The firm has a market cap of $211.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.50. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $76.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 30.19%. AstraZeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.965 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. This represents a yield of 2.3%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio 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.