AstraZeneca PLC $AZN Stock Holdings Lowered by Meitav Investment House Ltd.

Meitav Investment House Ltd. trimmed its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 36.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,185 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,085 shares during the quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 297.9% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in AstraZeneca by 447.4% during the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 416 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AZN. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $85.49 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $265.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.14, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.36. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $61.24 and a 1-year high of $86.57.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.09. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 32.84%. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.505 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a yield of 200.0%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.97%.

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.