Breakwater Capital Group Makes New $207,000 Investment in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Breakwater Capital Group acquired a new position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 8,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 19.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 17,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 40.6% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunpointe LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 3,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AZN. Barclays raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Citigroup raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of AZN stock traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $87.36. The company had a trading volume of 3,583,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,282,367. The company’s fifty day moving average is $80.28 and its 200 day moving average is $74.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.69. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $87.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $270.86 billion, a PE ratio of 42.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.45.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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

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.