AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by Eagle Global Advisors LLC

Eagle Global Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,906 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,350 shares during the period. Eagle Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $3,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 38.2% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,850,000 after purchasing an additional 7,802 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 642 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,664,000. Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth approximately $440,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AZN. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $70.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $218.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $61.24 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.88.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $13.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.06 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is 82.73%.

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.