AGF Management Ltd. Sells 1,336,869 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

AGF Management Ltd. cut its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 99.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,246 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,336,869 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth $299,000. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC now owns 29,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,940,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. purchased a new position in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth about $268,000. Morton Community Bank grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Community Bank now owns 42,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,773,000 after buying an additional 2,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 1.4 %

AZN stock opened at $77.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $240.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $71.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.38. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $62.75 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is presently 91.15%.

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.