Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,859 shares of the company’s stock after selling 320 shares during the quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $395,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AZN. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 8,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 3,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 106.3% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,000 after buying an additional 8,884 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $70.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $217.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $66.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.89. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $76.56.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.19% and a net margin of 13.00%. The firm had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.965 per share. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a yield of 2.3%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is presently 100.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.00.

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.