Cumberland Partners Ltd Acquires 213 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Cumberland Partners Ltd raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,611 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 543,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 101,225 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2,618.5% in the 4th 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.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $74.56 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.30. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $62.75 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The company has a market capitalization of $231.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. Research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. One 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

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.