Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. Purchases New Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1,614.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 56.3% in the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $77.85 on Wednesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The firm has a market cap of $241.38 billion, a PE ratio of 37.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $81.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. AstraZeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.34%.

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.