Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,671 shares of the company’s stock after selling 135 shares during the quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 93.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 43.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 2,380 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 10.6% during the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 7,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 400.1% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 3,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 23.6% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,625,000 after purchasing an additional 6,817 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Friday. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price target on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $83.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $258.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.31, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.36. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $61.24 and a 1 year high of $86.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.09. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.84% and a net margin of 14.68%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.505 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 200.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.97%.

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.