RWA Wealth Partners LLC Invests $221,000 in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

RWA Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 113.0% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 95,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,444,000 after purchasing an additional 50,750 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 51.8% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 14,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $977,000 after purchasing an additional 4,919 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 317.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,242,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,136,000 after purchasing an additional 944,765 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 163,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,979,000 after purchasing an additional 49,541 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,241,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $75.17 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $67.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.07. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $75.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $233.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.34%. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

AstraZeneca 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.