ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 14,151 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 763,470 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,151 shares during the quarter. AstraZeneca makes up about 2.0% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $53,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 297.9% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 447.4% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $85.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.10. The company has a market cap of $264.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.07, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.36. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $61.24 and a 12-month high of $85.50.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 32.84%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.505 per share. This represents a yield of 200.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.97%.

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.