Rakuten Securities Inc. Purchases New Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $139,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 4,875.0% during the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $68.53 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.69, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.50. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $60.47 and a one year high of $76.56.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 30.19%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.965 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.00.

About AstraZeneca

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.