AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by Ingalls & Snyder LLC

Ingalls & Snyder LLC cut its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,615 shares of the company’s stock after selling 981 shares during the period. Ingalls & Snyder LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $4,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Martin Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.8% during the third 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 purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth approximately $754,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 1,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 46.6% during the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 43,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,398,000 after acquiring an additional 13,860 shares during 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 recently issued reports on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $74.43 on Thursday. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $60.76 and a one year high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business has a fifty day moving average of $67.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.48. The company has a market cap of $230.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 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 the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 13.01%. As a group, analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 43.36%.

AstraZeneca Company 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.