Wedmont Private Capital Has $808,000 Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,517 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 892 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sunpointe LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth approximately $204,000. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at $5,364,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at $128,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 518,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,950,000 after acquiring an additional 65,760 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $76.87 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $87.68. The stock has a market cap of $238.34 billion, a PE ratio of 37.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $81.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.67.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is presently 47.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Erste Group Bank raised AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. TD Cowen raised their target price on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.