Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Bought by Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 31.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,984 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,769 shares during the quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $2,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,503,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461,786 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,162,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,623,604,000 after purchasing an additional 466,745 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,805,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,517,000 after purchasing an additional 582,183 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,707,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $438,342,000 after purchasing an additional 660,569 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings assumed coverage on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy (b)” rating on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.75.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 0.3%

AZN stock opened at $202.85 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $314.60 billion, a PE ratio of 30.97, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.94. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $122.48 and a one year high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca Dividend Announcement

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

About Astrazeneca

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.