Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC Invests $686,000 in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 8,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AZN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.2% during the first 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 acquiring an additional 9,002,450 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,684,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $988,972,000 after buying an additional 4,122,965 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth about $186,127,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter worth about $188,476,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth about $143,999,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $87.21 on Wednesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $87.28. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $80.28 and its 200 day moving average is $74.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $270.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.75, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.45.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Argus increased their target price on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average 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.