AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 289,577 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,278 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $19,503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 4,875.0% during the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AZN. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ AZN opened at $68.55 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.64. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $76.56. The company has a market cap of $212.54 billion, a PE ratio of 35.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.87.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 30.19%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.965 per share. This represents a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.52%.

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.