Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Boosts Stake in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 293,817 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,351 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $20,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 58.4% during the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 13,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 4,811 shares during the last quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the first quarter worth $3,066,000. Robbins Farley acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the second quarter worth $1,857,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 13.1% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 6.0% during the second quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 78,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,472,000 after purchasing an additional 4,449 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AZN. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price target on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ AZN opened at $85.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $264.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $78.04 and a 200-day moving average of $73.10. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $85.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.09. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.84% and a net margin of 14.68%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.505 dividend. This represents a yield of 200.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.97%.

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.