Blair William & Co. IL Has $17.90 Million Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Blair William & Co. IL reduced its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 229,484 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,920 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $17,897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 468.4% during the fourth quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 56.3% during the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $78.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $244.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The business’s 50 day moving average is $81.80 and its 200-day moving average is $76.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The firm’s quarterly 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. Equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Argus upped their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average 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.