Signaturefd LLC Acquires 903 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 60,146 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 903 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $3,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,705,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,806,000 after acquiring an additional 35,000 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in AstraZeneca by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 84,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,584,000 after purchasing an additional 9,795 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 36.2% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 22,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,758,000 after buying an additional 5,999 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 27,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,154,000 after buying an additional 1,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the third quarter worth $204,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $77.60 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $240.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $62.75 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

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.