Summit Financial LLC Takes Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Summit Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 105,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,144,000 after purchasing an additional 10,103 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 6.7% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 13,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 5,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 921 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 887,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,083,000 after acquiring an additional 45,504 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 9,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $658,000 after acquiring an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of AZN opened at $76.35 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.89. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $76.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.72 billion, a PE ratio of 37.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.47.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. AstraZeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.965 per share. This represents a yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is presently 94.61%.

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.