Providence First Trust Co Takes $648,000 Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Providence First Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 3,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $648,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bangor Savings Bank increased its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 102.7% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 304 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE AZN opened at $181.36 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1 year low of $132.32 and a 1 year high of $212.71. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $195.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.54. The firm has a market cap of $281.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.26.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Astrazeneca Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $1.595 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 156.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. Astrazeneca’s dividend payout ratio is 73.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup began coverage on Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays upgraded Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Company 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.