AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Position Trimmed by Wealthspire Advisors LLC

Wealthspire Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 25.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,577 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,242 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,801,080,000 after purchasing an additional 258,477 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,492,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,715 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,011,037,000 after purchasing an additional 466,416 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 5.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $816,509,000 after purchasing an additional 524,175 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 3,745,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,407,000 after purchasing an additional 564,297 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $75.65 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $234.60 billion, a PE ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $69.53 and a 200-day moving average of $73.11. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $62.75 and a one year high of $87.68.

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

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a yield of 2%. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is 91.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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