Summit Financial LLC Trims Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Summit Financial LLC lessened its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,642 shares of the company’s stock after selling 198 shares during the quarter. Summit Financial LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 65.1% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,101,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,179,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222,669 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,071,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in AstraZeneca by 236.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,117,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,192,000 after purchasing an additional 784,753 shares during the period. Tucker Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 3,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intrust Bank NA boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 14,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $921,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.5 %

AZN stock opened at $72.22 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $73.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.96, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $62.75 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. 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 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 net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given 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 was Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AZN shares. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of 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 given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.