Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC Takes $249,000 Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 4.7% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,503,614,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461,786 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 2.3% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 9.4% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,707,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $438,342,000 after purchasing an additional 660,569 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE AZN opened at $185.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $287.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Astrazeneca Plc has a fifty-two week low of $122.48 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.595 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. This represents a yield of 156.0%. Astrazeneca’s payout ratio is currently 74.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.75.

Astrazeneca Profile

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.