O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Sells 27,430 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 179,054 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,430 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $11,732,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners grew its position in AstraZeneca by 9,985.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,707,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,444,000 after acquiring an additional 3,670,719 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at $158,018,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,715 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca by 15,819.8% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,179,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,612 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 236.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,117,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,192,000 after purchasing an additional 784,753 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ AZN opened at $73.50 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $62.75 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.94 billion, a PE ratio of 32.52, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The business’s 50-day moving average is $73.69 and its 200 day moving average is $71.57.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. Sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is 91.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AZN. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

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.