AstraZeneca PLC $AZN Shares Sold by Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 5.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,514 shares of the company’s stock after selling 209 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,647,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,003,124,000 after purchasing an additional 3,224,251 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 35.9% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,036,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,712,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329,166 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,942,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,283,000 after purchasing an additional 261,064 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,077,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,939,000 after purchasing an additional 701,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 4,003,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,387,000 after purchasing an additional 272,537 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AZN shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $84.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $262.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $79.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.67. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $61.24 and a 1-year high of $86.57.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 32.84%. AstraZeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.505 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a yield of 200.0%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.97%.

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.