GC Wealth Management RIA LLC Raises Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

GC Wealth Management RIA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 29,607 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the period. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth $158,018,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in AstraZeneca by 109.6% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,397,000 after buying an additional 1,605,758 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,492,649,000 after buying an additional 1,522,715 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the third quarter worth $72,437,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 6,835.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 708,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,389,000 after buying an additional 697,801 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. UBS Group raised 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 given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $75.99 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $62.75 and a one year high of $87.68. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $71.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.58. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $235.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.62, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts forecast 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 paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is currently 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.