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

Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,705,757 shares of the company's stock valued at $210,806,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 13.1% during 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. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 36.2% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 22,564 shares of the company's stock worth $1,758,000 after purchasing an additional 5,999 shares during the period. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the third quarter worth about $204,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the third quarter worth about $233,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $89.75.

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AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN traded down $1.59 on Friday, reaching $74.93. The company had a trading volume of 5,171,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,940,218. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.19. The company has a market cap of $232.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $62.75 and a 52-week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. 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. AstraZeneca's payout ratio is presently 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.