AstraZeneca PLC $AZN Stake Increased by Columbus Macro LLC

Columbus Macro LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,125 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Columbus Macro LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AZN. First Merchants Corp raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.1% during the second quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 97,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,823,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.3% during the second quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 27,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,919,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Hendley & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.9% during the second quarter. Hendley & Co. Inc. now owns 73,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,149,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.6% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 43,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,047,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% during the second quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,812,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AZN. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price objective on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.6%

AstraZeneca stock opened at $85.38 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $264.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.10, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.36. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $61.24 and a one year high of $86.57. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $78.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.30.

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

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.505 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 200.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.97%.

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.