AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Bought by Wick Capital Partners LLC

Wick Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 128.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,360 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,327 shares during the quarter. Wick Capital Partners LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth approximately $754,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company's stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the company's stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 1,949 shares in the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 143,973 shares of the company's stock worth $9,433,000 after purchasing an additional 7,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asio Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 53,541 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,508,000 after purchasing an additional 5,569 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN traded up $1.93 during trading on Friday, hitting $72.44. The stock had a trading volume of 5,374,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,155,152. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.05, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $61.24 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The company's 50-day moving average price is $72.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.04.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.14. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. The business had revenue of $13.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.06 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 payout ratio is 91.15%.

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.