AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by Clarius Group LLC

Clarius Group LLC reduced its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 22.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,208 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,962 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake 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 worth $4,151,177,000 after purchasing an additional 9,002,450 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth about $186,127,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter worth about $188,476,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 750.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,283,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132,362 shares during the period. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,934,000 after acquiring an additional 950,000 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AZN. Citigroup upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. One investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.6 %

AZN opened at $77.35 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $81.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.75. The firm has a market cap of $239.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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

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.