Howe & Rusling Inc. Has $10.54 Million Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 22.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 156,496 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,282 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $10,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter valued at about $715,198,000. Manning & Napier Group LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 281.2% in the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 2,779,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,180,000 after buying an additional 2,050,064 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 5.2% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 22,946,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,937,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139,295 shares during the period. abrdn plc lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 346.3% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,420,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,696,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102,490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 317.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,242,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,136,000 after purchasing an additional 944,765 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded up $0.55 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $76.43. 3,013,780 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,264,532. The stock has a market cap of $236.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.41, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $76.80.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.42%. AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 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 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.965 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on AZN. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

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.