Lmcg Investments LLC Sells 8,350 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Key Points

• Lmcg Investments LLC trimmed its AstraZeneca stake by 39.6%, selling 8,350 shares and leaving it with 12,742 shares valued at about $2.236 million.
• Several large institutions substantially increased AZN holdings (e.g., Bank of Montreal +344.6%, Allspring +750.5%), with institutional ownership around 20.35%.
• AstraZeneca recently beat quarterly estimates with $2.58 EPS on $15.29 billion revenue, has a market cap of about $283.3 billion, and holds a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $205.33; it also paid a $1.595 per-share dividend in March.

Lmcg Investments LLC trimmed its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 39.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,742 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,350 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC's holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $2,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Astrazeneca by 344.6% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,478,114 shares of the company's stock valued at $266,841,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695,793 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in Astrazeneca by 41.8% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $470,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807,565 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Astrazeneca by 64.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,783,251 shares of the company's stock valued at $264,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,662 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Astrazeneca by 4.7% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,503,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461,786 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Astrazeneca by 750.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,628,771 shares of the company's stock valued at $149,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437,253 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Shares of Astrazeneca stock opened at $182.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $194.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.88. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1-year low of $132.32 and a 1-year high of $212.71. The company has a market cap of $283.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.43, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.26.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.26 EPS for the current year.

Astrazeneca Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.595 per share. This represents a yield of 156.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. Astrazeneca's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AZN. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "sell" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Astrazeneca from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. DZ Bank upgraded Astrazeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca plc is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.

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