First Heartland Consultants Inc. Trims Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

First Heartland Consultants Inc. lowered its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 87.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,320 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,216 shares during the period. First Heartland Consultants Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Northcape Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the second quarter worth $269,000. AMG National Trust Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter worth about $244,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 194.2% in the 2nd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Optas LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 30.9% in the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 5,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 1,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC purchased a new position in AstraZeneca during the second quarter worth about $2,593,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Citigroup upgraded 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. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Argus raised their target price on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $86.62 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.11. The stock has a market cap of $268.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.45. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $86.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.04%.

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.