Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. cut its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN – Free Report) by 86.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,260 shares of the company’s stock after selling 70,498 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in AstraZeneca by 4,875.0% during the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Syverson Strege & Co bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 16.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts recently issued reports on AZN shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. Argus dropped their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $85.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, May 26th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 4th. Finally, HSBC started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Friday, July 14th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.00.
AstraZeneca Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $67.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $69.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.62. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $52.65 and a fifty-two week high of $76.56. The firm has a market cap of $210.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.49.
AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.06 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 30.39%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend
The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.465 per share. This represents a yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 10th. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 45.73%.
AstraZeneca Profile
AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company's marketed products include Calquence, Enhertu, Faslodex, Imfinzi, Iressa, Koselugo, Lumoxiti, Lynparza, Orpathys, Tagrisso, and Zoladex for oncology; Andexxa/Ondexxya, Atacand, Atacand HCT, Atacand Plus, Brilinta/Brilique, Bydureon/Byetta, BCise, Byetta, Crestor, Evrenzo, Farxiga/Forxiga, Komboglyze/Kombiglyze XR, Lokelma, Onglyza, Qtern, Xigduo/Xigduo, and Zestril XR for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolism diseases; Accolate, Accoleit, Vanticon, Bevespi Aerosphere, Breztri Aerosphere, Bricanyl Respules and Turbuhaler, Daliresp/Daxas, Duaklir Genuair, Fasenra, Pulmicort, Rhinocort, Saphnelo, Symbicort, and Tezspire for respiratory and immunology; and Kanuma, Soliris, Strensiq, and Ultomiris for rare diseases.
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