Marcum Wealth LLC Cuts Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Marcum Wealth LLC cut its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 5.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,875 shares of the company’s stock after selling 488 shares during the quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 8,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 40.6% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 5,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 6,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 3.0 %

AZN traded down $2.48 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $79.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,728,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,368,322. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $82.01. The stock has a market cap of $245.97 billion, a PE ratio of 39.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50-day moving average is $78.68 and its 200-day moving average is $72.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AZN. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Argus upped their price target on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.00.

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.