Howe & Rusling Inc. Buys 28,282 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 22.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,496 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,282 shares during the quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $10,540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 375.6% in the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 428 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in AstraZeneca during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN stock traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $76.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,911,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,286,929. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $76.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The business has a fifty day moving average of $67.94 and a 200-day moving average of $66.23. The stock has a market cap of $236.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.50.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The firm's revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.965 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca's previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. AstraZeneca's payout ratio is currently 94.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut AstraZeneca from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.00.

AstraZeneca Company 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.