Haverford Trust Co Sells 165 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Haverford Trust Co trimmed its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,882 shares of the company’s stock after selling 165 shares during the quarter. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth about $754,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949 shares in the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 143,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,433,000 after purchasing an additional 7,341 shares during the period. Finally, Asio Capital LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 53,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,508,000 after purchasing an additional 5,569 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $73.05 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $226.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $62.75 and a one year high of $87.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $73.15 and its 200 day moving average is $71.77.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. Sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is currently 91.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AZN shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

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.