United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,277 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,993 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at about $754,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949 shares in the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 143,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,433,000 after purchasing an additional 7,341 shares during the period. Finally, Asio Capital LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 53,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,508,000 after buying an additional 5,569 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $86.80.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $67.54 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $61.24 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $73.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.65. The company has a market cap of $209.47 billion, a PE ratio of 29.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a yield of 2%. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is presently 91.15%.

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.