Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC decreased its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 187,237 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,718 shares during the quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $12,610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AZN. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 375.6% in the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN stock traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $75.54. 1,053,240 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,215,951. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $67.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.10. The company has a market cap of $234.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.00, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.50. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $76.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.89.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.42%. AstraZeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.965 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. 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 research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.00.

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.