AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 43.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,794 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,504 shares during the quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in AstraZeneca by 320.8% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 608 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 22.9% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 543,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 101,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ AZN opened at $72.66 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $67.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.56. The stock has a market cap of $225.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month 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.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.55%. Equities analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.66 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. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.36%.

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.