AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Acquired by Driehaus Capital Management LLC

Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 69.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,155 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,377 shares during the quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cox Capital Mgt LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the first quarter worth about $2,683,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,537,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,160,000 after purchasing an additional 121,876 shares in the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 9.7% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 6,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 124.5% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 98,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,657,000 after buying an additional 54,488 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. TD Cowen increased 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Barclays raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $77.62 on Monday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $81.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.10. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $87.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $240.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.47.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $12.45 billion during 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%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a dividend 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.