Key Financial Inc Purchases 200 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Key Financial Inc grew its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,004 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 4,875.0% during the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on AZN shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.53. 3,690,453 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,206,997. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $65.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.83. The stock has a market cap of $212.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.55, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.50. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $60.47 and a one year high of $76.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.19% and a net margin of 13.00%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.965 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 100.52%.

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.