Greenleaf Trust Decreases Position in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Greenleaf Trust reduced its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,560 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,048 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 7,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 28,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,062,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 4,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 23,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,743,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Global Advisors LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC now owns 53,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,741,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $76.72 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $237.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.84, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $82.41.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.09. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 32.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 200.0%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is presently 37.97%.

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.