AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by Acadian Asset Management LLC

Acadian Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 6.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,525 shares of the company’s stock after selling 808 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 468.4% during the 4th quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 1,614.8% during the 2nd 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. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AZN. Argus increased their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.0 %

AstraZeneca stock opened at $79.04 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $81.75 and its 200-day moving average is $76.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.89. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The company has a market cap of $245.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.75, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.47.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. AstraZeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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