Zions Bancorporation N.A. Grows Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 415.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,060 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,301 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 15,642 shares during the last quarter. Cox Capital Mgt LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth $2,683,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 121,876 shares in the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter worth about $269,000. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 6,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $78.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $242.68 billion, a PE ratio of 38.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $81.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.10. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has an average rating of “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.