Level Four Advisory Services LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN – Free Report) by 3.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,321 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 55.1% during the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $793,000 after acquiring an additional 4,249 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,466,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $495,328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343,939 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 102.7% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 525 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.68% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
AZN has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. They set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 4th. Argus reduced their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $85.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, May 26th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Friday, September 8th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.00.
AstraZeneca Stock Performance
NASDAQ AZN opened at $67.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $210.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $68.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.04. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $52.65 and a 1-year high of $76.56.
AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.06 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.39% and a net margin of 13.86%. As a group, analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.
AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend
The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 11th were given a $0.465 dividend. This represents a yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 10th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.73%.
About AstraZeneca
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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