Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 7.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,529 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,192 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $8,636,000 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. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 58.4% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 13,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $960,000 after buying an additional 4,811 shares during the period. Robbins Farley purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,857,000. SCS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,066,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 78,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,472,000 after purchasing an additional 4,449 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $84.53 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $79.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $262.16 billion, a PE ratio of 31.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.86. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $61.24 and a one year high of $86.57.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 32.84% and a net margin of 14.68%.The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.505 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 200.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price objective on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

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.