AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Stake Boosted by AdvisorNet Financial Inc

AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,237 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 264 shares during the quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,151,177,000 after acquiring an additional 9,002,450 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,684,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $988,972,000 after buying an additional 4,122,965 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the first quarter worth about $186,127,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at $188,476,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $143,999,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.6 %

AstraZeneca stock traded up $1.37 during trading on Thursday, hitting $85.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,031,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,366,905. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $85.30. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $263.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $79.21 and its 200 day moving average is $73.14.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on AZN. Argus lifted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

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.