Halpern Financial Inc. Cuts Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Halpern Financial Inc. cut its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,588 shares of the company’s stock after selling 239 shares during the quarter. Halpern Financial Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $126,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 86.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,736,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,964,000 after purchasing an additional 220,514 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 196.8% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 48,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,276,000 after purchasing an additional 32,254 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 40,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,727,000 after acquiring an additional 949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 16,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,150 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock traded down $0.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $77.47. 5,186,806 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,192,397. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $240.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $87.68. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.37.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. TD Cowen increased their target price on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

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.