FourThought Financial Partners LLC Has $5.89 Million Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 89,856 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,844 shares during the quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $5,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Crumly & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.2% during the third quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 6,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Veery Capital LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Veery Capital LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% during 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. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its position in AstraZeneca by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 10,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.6 %

AZN opened at $74.69 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $62.75 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company’s 50-day moving average is $68.92 and its 200 day moving average is $73.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $231.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.05, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.