SRS Capital Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 30.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,210 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 983 shares during the quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AZN. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,705,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,806,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 2,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 286,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,349,000 after purchasing an additional 2,369 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 444,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,227,000 after purchasing an additional 67,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 6,387.3% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 36,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,820,000 after purchasing an additional 35,641 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on AZN. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. One investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ AZN opened at $77.25 on Wednesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $62.75 and a 12 month high of $87.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $70.16 and a 200-day moving average of $72.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $239.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46.

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

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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