Hancock Whitney Corp Has $842,000 Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 16.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,801 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,553 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AZN. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 468.4% in the fourth quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 449 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 56.3% in the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. TD Cowen raised their target price on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Argus upped their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, 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 on the stock. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $78.38 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $81.80 and a 200 day moving average of $76.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $243.02 billion, a PE ratio of 38.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.47. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $87.68. 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 (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its 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. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. AstraZeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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

AstraZeneca 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.