Bleakley Financial Group LLC Raises Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 3.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,975 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,301 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $5,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in AstraZeneca by 19.1% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 860 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.8% during the second quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 17,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 40.6% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Sunpointe LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.5% during the second quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 3,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.0% during the second quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

NASDAQ AZN opened at $78.02 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $241.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 48.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AZN shares. Citigroup raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Barclays raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

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.