Sanctuary Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 166,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,546,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AZN. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 468.4% during the fourth quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 449 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $77.93 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $241.63 billion, a PE ratio of 38.20, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $81.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.28.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The business had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.