MBL Wealth LLC Acquires Shares of 2,754 Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

MBL Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 93.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 45.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 11,690 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the second quarter valued at $4,219,000. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 54.4% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 10,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 3,618 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 13.6% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 15,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 1,837 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AZN shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.75.

Astrazeneca Trading Up 1.8%

AZN stock opened at $204.44 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $317.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1 year low of $122.48 and a 1 year high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th were paid a $1.595 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. This represents a yield of 156.0%. Astrazeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.26%.

Astrazeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca plc is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.