Leavell Investment Management Inc. Sells 602 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,158 shares of the company’s stock after selling 602 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Martin Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC now owns 284,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,571,000 after buying an additional 7,615 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at $754,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 1,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 46.6% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 43,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,398,000 after buying an additional 13,860 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZN has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. One equities research 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $74.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $230.88 billion, a PE ratio of 32.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $61.06 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.49.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 13.01%. As a group, equities analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.36%.

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.