Sit Investment Associates Inc. Sells 73,050 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. reduced its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 30.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 166,850 shares of the company’s stock after selling 73,050 shares during the quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $10,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $754,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 1,949 shares in the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 143,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,433,000 after buying an additional 7,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asio Capital LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 53,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,508,000 after buying an additional 5,569 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $68.46 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $62.75 and a one year high of $87.68. The firm has a market cap of $212.31 billion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. As a group, equities analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $1.03 dividend. 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 yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is 91.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on AZN shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

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.