HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 31,957 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 3.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 958,235 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 31,957 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $73,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Aberdeen Group plc grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.6% during the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 800,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,393,000 after purchasing an additional 4,633 shares in the last quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $275,000. Naviter Wealth LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 72,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,526,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,048,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.9% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 11,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $910,000 after buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AZN. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $205.47 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $122.48 and a 1-year high of $206.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The business’s 50 day moving average is $115.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $318.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.26, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.34.

AstraZeneca Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.595 per share. This represents a yield of 165.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.83%.

AstraZeneca Profile

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca’s operations span research and development, large-scale manufacturing, and commercial distribution, with a presence in developed and emerging markets worldwide.

The company focuses on several core therapy areas including oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism (CVRM), respiratory and immunology, and rare diseases.