Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas Buys 581 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,424 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas’ holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 433.2% during the 4th quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 45,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,050,000 after acquiring an additional 36,789 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 196,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,239,000 after acquiring an additional 37,214 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at about $221,000. Significant Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at about $284,000. Finally, Telemus Capital LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 9,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ AZN traded up $0.79 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $70.92. 4,154,780 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,119,368. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.50. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $76.56. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $66.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.19% and a net margin of 13.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.965 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.52%.

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.