Fulton Bank N.A. Raises Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Fulton Bank N.A. grew its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,329 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 211 shares during the quarter. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $727,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cox Capital Mgt LLC purchased a new position in AstraZeneca in the first quarter valued at $2,683,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,537,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,160,000 after acquiring an additional 121,876 shares during the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter worth about $269,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 9.7% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 6,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 124.5% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 98,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,657,000 after purchasing an additional 54,488 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $76.87 on Wednesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $87.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $81.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.34 billion, a PE ratio of 37.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly 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. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The business had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.08 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a dividend 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.