SFG Wealth Management LLC. Makes New $229,000 Investment in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

SFG Wealth Management LLC. bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $10,395,000. SVB Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 21,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 152.4% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 3,074 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth $139,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 181,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,208,000 after buying an additional 1,018 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Argus upped their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN traded down $0.49 during trading on Friday, reaching $84.41. The stock had a trading volume of 3,550,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,362,012. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.43. 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 PLC has a one year low of $60.47 and a one year high of $85.30. The company has a market capitalization of $261.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.38, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.45.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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

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.