Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Has $2.45 Million Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 155.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 36,369 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,137 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 375.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN stock opened at $76.35 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $68.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.36. The stock has a market cap of $236.72 billion, a PE ratio of 37.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.47. 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 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $76.80.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 EPS 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. This represents a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is 94.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.