DRW Securities LLC Sells 32,254 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

DRW Securities LLC lowered its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 86.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,214 shares of the company's stock after selling 32,254 shares during the quarter. DRW Securities LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 9,985.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,707,479 shares of the company's stock worth $243,444,000 after purchasing an additional 3,670,719 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at about $158,018,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after buying an additional 1,522,715 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,101,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $203,179,000 after buying an additional 1,222,669 shares during the period. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 15,819.8% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,179,018 shares of the company's stock worth $77,249,000 after buying an additional 1,171,612 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN traded up $1.72 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $68.01. The company had a trading volume of 5,939,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,249,754. The company's 50-day moving average price is $73.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.83. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $61.24 and a one year high of $87.68. The firm has a market cap of $210.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.09, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca's payout ratio is 91.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target 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.