AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by Malaga Cove Capital LLC

Malaga Cove Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,150 shares of the company’s stock after selling 179 shares during the quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 468.4% in the fourth quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 1,614.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AZN. Argus boosted their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Barclays upgraded shares of 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $80.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.85. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $250.80 billion, a PE ratio of 39.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.47.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.04%.

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.