Park National Corp OH Sells 8,161 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Park National Corp OH trimmed its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 5.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 153,221 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,161 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $11,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the second quarter worth approximately $182,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 38,185.0% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 53,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,180,000 after purchasing an additional 53,459 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its position in AstraZeneca by 122.4% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 951 shares during the last quarter. American Trust boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 27.9% in the second quarter. American Trust now owns 4,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the second quarter valued at about $688,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Citigroup raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Erste Group Bank raised AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $79.58 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $81.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.89. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $87.68. The stock has a market cap of $246.74 billion, a PE ratio of 39.01, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. The business 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 revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 was Friday, August 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is currently 48.04%.

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.