Wedmont Private Capital Boosts Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN – Get Rating) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,960 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,354,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Seascape Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Seascape Capital Management now owns 45,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,022,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Roosevelt Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Roosevelt Investment Group LLC now owns 72,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,948,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Columbia Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Columbia Asset Management now owns 9,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. 16.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $65.61 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $52.65 and a twelve month high of $72.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.985 per share. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.47. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 23rd. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is 180.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on AstraZeneca from GBX 118 ($1.44) to GBX 126 ($1.54) in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on AstraZeneca from £120 ($146.25) to £130 ($158.44) in a research report on Thursday, December 15th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AstraZeneca from £125 ($152.35) to £135 ($164.53) in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Finally, TheStreet raised AstraZeneca from a “c” rating to an “a” rating in a research report on Monday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10,825.11.

AstraZeneca Profile

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AstraZeneca Plc is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company was founded on June 17, 1992 and is headquartered in Cambridge, the United Kingdom.