AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by Level Four Advisory Services LLC

Level Four Advisory Services LLC decreased its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 14.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,695 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,074 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AZN. Boston Partners grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 9,985.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,707,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,444,000 after acquiring an additional 3,670,719 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $158,018,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,715 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 15,819.8% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,179,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $72,437,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN stock opened at $73.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.67. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $62.75 and a 52-week high of $87.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. Equities research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a yield of 2%. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.15%.

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.