Procyon Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Procyon Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 29,853 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,270 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 90.1% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 3,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 43.6% during the 3rd quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 3,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 82.9% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 24,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,945,000 after acquiring an additional 11,315 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 83,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,493,000 after acquiring an additional 17,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asio Capital LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 47,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,737,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AZN. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Barclays raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.0 %

AstraZeneca stock opened at $78.10 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $81.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $242.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.28, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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

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.