Hilton Capital Management LLC Sells 20,175 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Hilton Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 155,317 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,175 shares during the quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $10,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,705,757 shares of the company's stock valued at $210,806,000 after acquiring an additional 35,000 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca in the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 5.2% in the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 5,368 shares of the company's stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 8,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 13.1% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 84,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,584,000 after purchasing an additional 9,795 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

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AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ AZN traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $77.07. 3,596,557 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,934,951. The business's 50-day moving average is $72.07 and its 200-day moving average is $72.20. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $62.75 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from AstraZeneca's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a yield of 2%. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio is 91.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, 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.