Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $107.07 Million Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,372,805 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,164 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $107,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,151,177,000 after buying an additional 9,002,450 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,782,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,342,367,000 after acquiring an additional 164,183 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,684,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $988,972,000 after purchasing an additional 4,122,965 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,424,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $708,617,000 after purchasing an additional 889,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,376,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $631,487,000 after purchasing an additional 205,185 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $78.38 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $243.02 billion, a PE ratio of 38.42, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.47. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $87.68.

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

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on AZN. Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group started 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. Finally, Citigroup raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.