AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Bought by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 750.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,283,274 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,132,362 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $100,523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position 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 purchased a new position in AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,683,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 121,876 shares during the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the second quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 9.7% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 6,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of AZN stock opened at $78.58 on Thursday. 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 $243.64 billion, a PE ratio of 38.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50-day moving average of $81.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.46. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 EPS 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 issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.04%.

AstraZeneca Company 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.