Paragon Capital Management Inc. Invests $678,000 in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Paragon Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $678,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cox Capital Mgt LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,683,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.6% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,537,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,160,000 after acquiring an additional 121,876 shares in the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $269,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 6,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 124.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 98,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,657,000 after purchasing an additional 54,488 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of AZN stock opened at $78.31 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $242.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $81.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.04. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. AstraZeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 47.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.