AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp lowered its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 73.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,442 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 113.0% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 95,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,444,000 after buying an additional 50,750 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 51.8% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 14,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,000 after purchasing an additional 4,919 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 317.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,242,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,136,000 after purchasing an additional 944,765 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 163,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,979,000 after purchasing an additional 49,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter worth $2,241,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $75.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $233.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.85, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.50. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $75.81. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.01). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.34% and a net margin of 13.30%. The company had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.965 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is 94.61%.

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.