First City Capital Management Inc. Has $648,000 Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

First City Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 18.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,313 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,873 shares during the quarter. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 8,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 19.1% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its position in AstraZeneca by 0.8% during the second quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 17,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in AstraZeneca by 40.6% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Sunpointe LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 3,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of AZN opened at $78.38 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.57. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $60.47 and a one year high of $87.68. The company has a market capitalization of $243.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.42, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.47. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Argus lifted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded 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. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One research 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.com, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

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.