AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by Perpetual Ltd

Perpetual Ltd trimmed its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 13.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,690 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,022 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $3,404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the third quarter worth $1,290,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 24.8% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 18,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,412,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 10,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $808,000 after buying an additional 892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 240,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,517,000 after acquiring an additional 4,799 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Barclays raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Citigroup raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of AZN opened at $76.87 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $81.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.67. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $238.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The business had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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

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.