AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by 44 Wealth Management LLC

44 Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,050 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,290 shares during the quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AZN. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,705,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,806,000 after acquiring an additional 35,000 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 268.9% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 60,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,723,000 after buying an additional 44,189 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the third quarter valued at $62,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 7,331.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 283,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000,000 after buying an additional 279,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 111.8% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 18,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after buying an additional 9,598 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.5 %

AZN opened at $74.20 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $62.75 and a one year high of $87.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. Analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on AZN shares. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.