AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. lessened its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 127,071 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,914 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $8,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.9% in 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 during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 8.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 24.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.6% during 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 raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 106.3% in 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 in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.5 %

AZN stock traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $71.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,132,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,141,770. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $66.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.95. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $76.56. The company has a market capitalization of $220.75 billion, a PE ratio of 37.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

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

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

AstraZeneca 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.