Whittier Trust Co. Acquires 1,068 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,762 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,151,177,000 after purchasing an additional 9,002,450 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,365,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $634,525,000 after acquiring an additional 29,497 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 16.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,417,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,565,000 after purchasing an additional 488,644 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.8% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,403,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,458,000 after purchasing an additional 186,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 4.7% during the first quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 2,990,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,588,000 after purchasing an additional 134,784 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AZN. Erste Group Bank raised AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $77.32 on Wednesday. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $81.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.49 dividend. 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 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.