AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lessened its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,298 shares of the company’s stock after selling 288 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 468.4% during the fourth quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 449 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 56.3% during the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 494 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ AZN opened at $83.76 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.14. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $83.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $259.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.06, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.45.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The business had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is currently 48.04%.

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.