Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Has $3.05 Million Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 433.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 45,281 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 36,789 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $3,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 196,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,239,000 after buying an additional 37,214 shares during the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth about $221,000. Significant Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth about $284,000. Telemus Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 9,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 11,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $772,000 after purchasing an additional 2,113 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of AZN opened at $70.85 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $219.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.82. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $76.56. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.92.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.965 per share. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a yield of 2.3%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.52%.

AstraZeneca 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.