Principal Securities Inc. Has $1.83 Million Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,911 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,490 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Martin Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC now owns 284,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,571,000 after acquiring an additional 7,615 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth $754,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 1,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 46.6% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 43,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,398,000 after buying an additional 13,860 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $74.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.29. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $62.75 and a 52-week high of $87.68. The company has a market cap of $231.95 billion, a PE ratio of 33.10, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.93.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 13.01%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.66 EPS 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 given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a yield of 2%. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About AstraZeneca

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.