Alliancebernstein L.P. Lowers Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. sold 914,344 shares of AstraZeneca PLC, reducing its holdings by 29.5% to 2,186,681 shares, valued at approximately $160.7 million.
• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and American Century Companies Inc. significantly increased their stakes in AstraZeneca by 30.9% and 406.9%, respectively, during the first quarter.
• AstraZeneca recently announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.505, despite a decline in earnings per share year-over-year from $1.24 to $1.09.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 29.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,186,681 shares of the company's stock after selling 914,344 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.07% of AstraZeneca worth $160,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 58.4% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 13,055 shares of the company's stock valued at $960,000 after acquiring an additional 4,811 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,083 shares of the company's stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 311,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,903,000 after purchasing an additional 5,557 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter worth $727,000. Finally, Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter worth $213,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 target price on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $80.83. The company had a trading volume of 502,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,115,114. The company's 50 day moving average price is $75.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $250.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.37. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $61.24 and a 52-week high of $82.41.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 32.84%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.505 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a yield of 200.0%. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio is 37.97%.

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.