AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by Trust Co. of Vermont

Trust Co. of Vermont lessened its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 26.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,271 shares of the company’s stock after selling 821 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth about $10,395,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 4,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,765,000 after acquiring an additional 10,113 shares during the period. Finally, Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at about $278,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AZN. Argus upped their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ:AZN traded up $1.43 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $80.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,825,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,347,454. The firm has a market capitalization of $250.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.85, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.45. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $82.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.54.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.61%.

AstraZeneca 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.