Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 213 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,049 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 54.9% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 19,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 6,775 shares during the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $250,000. ICW Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at about $262,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 60.7% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 15,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $985,000 after acquiring an additional 5,681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 717,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,989,000 after acquiring an additional 132,398 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $72.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $62.75 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $73.29 and a 200-day moving average of $71.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.