International Assets Investment Management LLC Acquires New Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,151,177,000 after purchasing an additional 9,002,450 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 39.0% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,684,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $988,972,000 after acquiring an additional 4,122,965 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the first quarter worth approximately $186,127,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the second quarter valued at approximately $188,476,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $143,999,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ AZN opened at $87.62 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $80.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $271.67 billion, a PE ratio of 42.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.45.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The business had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AZN. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Argus raised their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays upgraded 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

About AstraZeneca

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.