MQS Management LLC Sells 5,336 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

MQS Management LLC lessened its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 66.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,648 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,336 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,151,177,000 after acquiring an additional 9,002,450 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,782,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,342,367,000 after purchasing an additional 164,183 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,684,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $988,972,000 after buying an additional 4,122,965 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,424,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $708,617,000 after buying an additional 889,178 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,376,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $631,487,000 after buying an additional 205,185 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ AZN opened at $78.38 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.57. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $60.47 and a one year high of $87.68. The firm has a market cap of $243.02 billion, a PE ratio of 38.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AZN shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca 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.