MQS Management LLC Decreases Position in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

MQS Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,396 shares of the company’s stock after selling 352 shares during the quarter. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 30.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,647,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,003,124,000 after purchasing an additional 3,224,251 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in 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. increased its holdings 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 holdings in shares of 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 period. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 7.3% in the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 4,003,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,387,000 after purchasing an additional 272,537 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.1%

AZN opened at $83.29 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $80.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $258.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.31, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.36. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $61.24 and a one year high of $86.57.

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

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Friday. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price objective on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

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.