Strategic Advisors LLC Has $275,000 Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Strategic Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 23.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,524 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,050 shares during the quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 113.0% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 95,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,444,000 after acquiring an additional 50,750 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 154,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,433,000 after purchasing an additional 15,642 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at $10,395,000. Cox Capital Mgt LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth $2,683,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,537,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,160,000 after buying an additional 121,876 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:AZN traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $81.34. 1,679,915 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,335,866. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.66. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $60.47 and a one year high of $82.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $252.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Argus raised their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $88.00.

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.