Wealth Alliance Sells 197 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Wealth Alliance cut its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,342 shares of the company’s stock after selling 197 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crumly & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.2% in the third quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 6,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Veery Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Veery Capital LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 8,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Salley Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.0% in the third quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 16,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $74.56 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $62.75 and a 1 year high of $87.68. 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 company has a market capitalization of $231.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.30.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results 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%. Research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.