Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $622,000 Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 42.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,493 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,832 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AZN. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $158,018,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 109.6% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605,758 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,715 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the third quarter valued at approximately $72,437,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 6,835.8% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 708,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,389,000 after purchasing an additional 697,801 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $75.57 on Thursday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $62.75 and a 12 month high of $87.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.51. The firm has a market cap of $234.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.44, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. As a group, 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 will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is presently 91.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AZN shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

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.