First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Cuts Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. cut its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,151 shares of the company’s stock after selling 388 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 375.6% during the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $76.01. 1,268,263 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,230,185. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $76.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.46, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The business has a 50 day moving average of $67.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.23.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. The firm had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.965 per share. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.61%.

AstraZeneca Company 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.