Wealthfront Advisers LLC Acquires New Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB lifted 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 acquiring an additional 35,000 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 9,795 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 36.2% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 22,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,758,000 after acquiring an additional 5,999 shares during the last quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AstraZeneca in the third quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AstraZeneca in the third quarter worth approximately $233,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $77.37 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $239.94 billion, a PE ratio of 34.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $62.75 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.20.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results 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, equities analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $1.03 dividend. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s dividend 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.