Wealth Alliance Boosts Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Wealth Alliance lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,440 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 975 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 468.4% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 56.3% during the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 494 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $78.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.45. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $243.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.47.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus upped their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

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.