Connable Office Inc. Sells 585 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Connable Office Inc. cut its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,178 shares of the company’s stock after selling 585 shares during the period. Connable Office Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 22.9% during the 3rd 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. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 2,618.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $76.21 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $69.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.07. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $62.75 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.34 billion, a PE ratio of 33.72, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced 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 return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. Equities analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors 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 of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 91.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

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.