Dynasty Wealth Management LLC Makes New $787,000 Investment in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Dynasty Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 12,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $787,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AZN. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,801,080,000 after purchasing an additional 258,477 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,492,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,715 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,011,037,000 after purchasing an additional 466,416 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $816,509,000 after buying an additional 524,175 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 3,745,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,407,000 after buying an additional 564,297 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $76.21 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $62.75 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $69.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results 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%. Research analysts anticipate 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 issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 91.15%.

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.