Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC Invests $332,000 in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $332,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cox Capital Mgt LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter valued at $2,683,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 8.6% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter worth about $269,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 6,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 124.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 98,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,657,000 after buying an additional 54,488 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. 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 report on Monday, August 12th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of 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 assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN opened at $78.67 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.26. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $87.68. The company has a market cap of $243.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.56, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. AstraZeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s dividend 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.