Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Has $380,000 Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,804 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 104.2% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 11,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $782,000 after buying an additional 6,091 shares during the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 3,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 686 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC grew its position in AstraZeneca by 1,162.4% in the 4th quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 37,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,447,000 after purchasing an additional 34,385 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Stockton grew its position in AstraZeneca by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 4,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $75.40 on Wednesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $62.75 and a 12 month high of $87.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $233.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.36, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50-day moving average of $69.09 and a 200-day moving average of $73.08.

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

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.15%.

AstraZeneca Company 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.