AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Purchased by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 35.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,465,575 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 384,308 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $116,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 8,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 17,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunpointe LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Argus lifted their price target on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN stock opened at $77.14 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $239.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.73. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $12.45 billion during 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.