PDS Planning Inc Sells 242 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

PDS Planning Inc decreased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,493 shares of the company’s stock after selling 242 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 297.9% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 447.4% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Finally, Maseco LLP bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN opened at $84.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.78, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of $79.18 and a 200 day moving average of $73.46. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $86.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.86.

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

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid 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 presently 37.97%.

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.