AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Acquired by Edge Capital Group LLC

Edge Capital Group LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 144,301 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,665 shares during the quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $11,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the second quarter worth $26,000. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 468.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 56.3% in the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. 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 price objective on the stock. Argus boosted 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN stock opened at $78.38 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.57. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The firm has a market cap of $243.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued 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 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.