Hoylecohen LLC Invests $224,000 in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Hoylecohen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,151,177,000 after purchasing an additional 9,002,450 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,782,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,342,367,000 after acquiring an additional 164,183 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,684,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $988,972,000 after acquiring an additional 4,122,965 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,424,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $708,617,000 after acquiring an additional 889,178 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,404,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,361,000 after purchasing an additional 233,015 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AstraZeneca stock traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $84.41. 3,550,027 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,362,012. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $85.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $261.71 billion, a PE ratio of 41.38, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s fifty day moving average is $79.37 and its 200-day moving average is $73.39.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.74 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AZN. TD Cowen increased their price objective on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Argus boosted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

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.