AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by Sage Mountain Advisors LLC

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC reduced its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,859 shares of the company’s stock after selling 320 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $395,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 8,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $628,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 3,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 106.3% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,000 after acquiring an additional 8,884 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $70.13 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $66.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.89. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $76.56. The firm has a market cap of $217.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.53, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.01). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 30.19%. The business had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.965 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 100.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

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.