AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Stake Lessened by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 220,767 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,478 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $14,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 6,835.8% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 708,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,389,000 after buying an additional 697,801 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 23,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,568,000 after buying an additional 1,361 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 102,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,724,000 after buying an additional 10,653 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 37,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,437,000 after buying an additional 5,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth approximately $256,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $75.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $234.60 billion, a PE ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $62.75 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.11.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its 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 return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. As a group, research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.