HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Has $1.61 Million Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC cut its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,180 shares of the company’s stock after selling 188 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AZN shares. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. One 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN opened at $73.50 on Tuesday. 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 cap of $227.94 billion, a PE ratio of 32.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $73.69 and a 200-day moving average of $71.57. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $62.75 and a 52-week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

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.