Wick Capital Partners LLC Has $1.20 Million Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Wick Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 128.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,360 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,327 shares during the quarter. Wick Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at about $754,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949 shares during the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 143,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,433,000 after purchasing an additional 7,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asio Capital LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 53,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,508,000 after buying an additional 5,569 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ AZN opened at $71.71 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $61.24 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The company has a market cap of $222.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.73, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.11.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 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 predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $1.03 dividend. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.