AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by Monetary Management Group Inc.

Monetary Management Group Inc. cut its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 26.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. Monetary Management Group Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 493,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,444,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in AstraZeneca by 4.1% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,086,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 15.5% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 17,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,408 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.8% in the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 10,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Resource Group acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the third quarter valued at about $946,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 2.8 %

AZN stock opened at $64.87 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $201.18 billion, a PE ratio of 28.70, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $61.24 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.96.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 payout ratio is currently 91.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AZN. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

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.