Malaga Cove Capital LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Malaga Cove Capital LLC reduced its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 20.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,838 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,644 shares during the period. Malaga Cove Capital LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $932,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 375.6% during 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 period. LWM Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN traded up $0.55 on Friday, hitting $76.35. 9,026,349 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,666,863. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $68.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.36. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $76.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.47.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.965 per share. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. This represents a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.61%.

About AstraZeneca

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.