GC Wealth Management RIA LLC Acquires 599 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

GC Wealth Management RIA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,607 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.3% during 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. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter valued at about $266,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 227,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,703,000 after purchasing an additional 12,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 106,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,326,000 after purchasing an additional 9,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $75.99 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $235.66 billion, a PE ratio of 33.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $62.75 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $71.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. Equities analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. 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.