AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by HHM Wealth Advisors LLC

HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 37.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 770 shares of the company’s stock after selling 462 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $60,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AZN. AGF Management Ltd. increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 63.5% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,303,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,665,000 after buying an additional 506,465 shares during the period. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 9.6% in the second quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 417,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,557,000 after acquiring an additional 36,685 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 10.7% during the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 16,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,607 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 69.7% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 44,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,455,000 after acquiring an additional 18,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 75.9% in the second quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,006,000 after purchasing an additional 11,102 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AZN shares. Citigroup upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $80.53 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.99. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $249.69 billion, a PE ratio of 39.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.47.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a dividend 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.