AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Acquired by Wesbanco Bank Inc.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 7.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 78,731 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,232 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $6,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 19.1% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 860 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 17,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 40.6% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Sunpointe LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 3,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 4.0% in the second quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of AZN stock opened at $78.10 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $87.68. 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’s fifty day moving average is $81.34 and its 200-day moving average is $77.97. The stock has a market cap of $242.15 billion, a PE ratio of 38.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46.

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

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 48.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AZN. Barclays raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Erste Group Bank raised AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

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.