Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Invests $981,000 in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 14,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $981,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 9,985.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,707,479 shares of the company's stock valued at $243,444,000 after acquiring an additional 3,670,719 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth about $158,018,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after buying an additional 1,522,715 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 65.1% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,101,025 shares of the company's stock worth $203,179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222,669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 15,819.8% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,179,018 shares of the company's stock worth $77,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,612 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.80.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ AZN traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $67.54. 3,796,013 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,234,555. 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 has a market capitalization of $209.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $61.24 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $72.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.57.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a yield of 2%. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca's payout ratio is currently 91.15%.

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.