M&T Bank Corp Sells 11,178 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

M&T Bank Corp lessened its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 276,110 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,178 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $18,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 375.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 428 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $76.35. The stock had a trading volume of 9,026,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,666,863. The firm has a market cap of $236.72 billion, a PE ratio of 37.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.36. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $60.47 and a one year high of $76.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly 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). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. The business had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.965 per share. 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. This represents a yield of 2.3%. 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.