Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC Invests $984,000 in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 14,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AZN. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 30.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,647,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,003,124,000 after buying an additional 3,224,251 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 406.9% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,020,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,517,000 after acquiring an additional 1,621,974 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 35.9% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,036,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,712,000 after acquiring an additional 1,329,166 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 650.1% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,234,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,761,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070,223 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 33.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,807,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,853,000 after acquiring an additional 948,659 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN stock opened at $85.31 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $61.24 and a 1 year high of $85.50. The company has a market cap of $264.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.07, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $78.04 and a 200 day moving average of $73.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

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

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on AZN shares. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 target price on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.