AstraZeneca PLC $AZN Shares Sold by FSM Wealth Advisors LLC

FSM Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,897 shares of the company’s stock after selling 222 shares during the quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 297.9% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 59.8% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the first quarter valued at $37,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $83.40 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $61.24 and a 52-week high of $86.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.22. The firm has a market cap of $258.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.36.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 32.84%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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

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.