Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC Sells 381 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC reduced its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,378 shares of the company’s stock after selling 381 shares during the period. AstraZeneca accounts for 0.6% of Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $5,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 375.6% during the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of AZN stock traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $76.17. The company had a trading volume of 994,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,243,881. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.16 billion, a PE ratio of 37.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.50. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $76.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company’s fifty day moving average is $67.71 and its 200 day moving average is $66.16.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 EPS 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 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.965 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AZN shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

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.