AstraZeneca PLC $AZN Shares Purchased by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 795,584 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,793 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $55,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,647,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,003,124,000 after acquiring an additional 3,224,251 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 35.9% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,036,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,712,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329,166 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.6% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,942,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,283,000 after purchasing an additional 261,064 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 20.8% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,077,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,939,000 after purchasing an additional 701,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 7.3% during the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 4,003,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,387,000 after buying an additional 272,537 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $84.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $262.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.36. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $61.24 and a 12 month high of $86.57. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $79.18 and its 200-day moving average is $73.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.505 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 200.0%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is presently 37.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AZN. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 target price on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

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.