Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 52,529 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Federated Hermes Inc. cut its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 20.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 208,595 shares of the company's stock after selling 52,529 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $13,667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 12,901 shares of the company's stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Veery Capital LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Veery Capital LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company's stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.8% during the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 10,027 shares of the company's stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 35,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,313,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.82. The company had a trading volume of 2,572,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,239,413. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $61.24 and a one year high of $87.68. The company has a market capitalization of $210.31 billion, a PE ratio of 30.04, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.77.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. On average, equities analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

AstraZeneca 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.