Howe & Rusling Inc. Boosts Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 22.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 156,496 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,282 shares during the quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $10,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 375.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AZN. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $76.43. 3,013,780 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,264,532. The business has a 50-day moving average of $67.71 and a 200 day moving average of $66.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.97 billion, a PE ratio of 37.41, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $76.80.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. On average, analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.965 per share. This represents a 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.61%.

About AstraZeneca

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.