AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Bought by Beacon Capital Management LLC

Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 339.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 765 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $52,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.7% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 8,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $542,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 40.6% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.8% in the first quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 5,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.7% in the first quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 6,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN traded up $2.04 during trading on Thursday, reaching $81.19. The stock had a trading volume of 5,394,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,348,207. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $78.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $251.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.72, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.45. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $81.40.

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. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid 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 (DPR) is presently 94.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AZN. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.00.

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.