AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Holdings Reduced by M&R Capital Management Inc.

M&R Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 111,274 shares of the company’s stock after selling 880 shares during the period. AstraZeneca makes up approximately 1.9% of M&R Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. M&R Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $8,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,151,177,000 after acquiring an additional 9,002,450 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at approximately $186,127,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the second quarter valued at approximately $188,476,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 750.3% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,283,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,934,000 after purchasing an additional 950,000 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on AZN shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Citigroup raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Barclays raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $79.58 on Thursday. 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 cap of $246.74 billion, a PE ratio of 39.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.28.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect 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 $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.04%.

AstraZeneca 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.