FMB Wealth Management Buys New Stake in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

FMB Wealth Management bought a new stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 344.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,478,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,841,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695,793 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807,565 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 64.8% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,783,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,662 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,503,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461,786 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 750.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,628,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437,253 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AZN shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings initiated coverage on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy (b)” rating for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.75.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 1.8%

Astrazeneca stock opened at $204.44 on Thursday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52-week low of $122.48 and a 52-week high of $212.71. The firm has a market cap of $317.06 billion, a PE ratio of 31.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Astrazeneca Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.595 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. This represents a dividend yield of 156.0%. Astrazeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.26%.

Astrazeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca plc is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.