Columbia Asset Management Reduces Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Columbia Asset Management decreased its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,694 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $678,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 17.2% in 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 buying an additional 9,002,450 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,782,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,342,367,000 after purchasing an additional 164,183 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,684,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $988,972,000 after buying an additional 4,122,965 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,424,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $708,617,000 after buying an additional 889,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,376,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $631,487,000 after purchasing an additional 205,185 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AZN. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Argus increased their target price 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. Three 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 3.2 %

NASDAQ AZN opened at $83.00 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $87.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $81.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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

About AstraZeneca

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.