Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 25,528 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,285 shares during the quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca in the third quarter worth about $45,000. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 68.9% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 608 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 38.4% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2,618.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AZN. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ AZN opened at $76.10 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $62.75 and a one year high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $236.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.86.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. Equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

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.