Moors & Cabot Inc. Acquires 900 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,091 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,705,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,806,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 5.2% in the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 5,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 8,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 13.1% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 84,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,584,000 after purchasing an additional 9,795 shares during the period. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the third quarter worth $308,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.4 %

AstraZeneca stock opened at $77.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $62.75 and a one year high of $87.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $240.65 billion, a PE ratio of 34.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s fifty day moving average is $71.86 and its 200 day moving average is $72.48.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. UBS Group raised 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

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.