AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Bought by HUB Investment Partners LLC

HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,039 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,834 shares during the quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $6,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth $754,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 1,949 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 143,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,433,000 after purchasing an additional 7,341 shares during the period. Finally, Asio Capital LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 53,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,508,000 after purchasing an additional 5,569 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 1.0 %

AstraZeneca stock opened at $76.32 on Thursday. 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 quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $236.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.77, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.16.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 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 research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 91.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AZN. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

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.