Saxony Capital Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Saxony Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 9,002,450 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 0.3% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,365,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $634,525,000 after purchasing an additional 29,497 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 16.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,417,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,565,000 after buying an additional 488,644 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.8% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,403,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,458,000 after buying an additional 186,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.7% in the first quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 2,990,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,588,000 after buying an additional 134,784 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $77.32 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $239.73 billion, a PE ratio of 37.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50 day moving average is $81.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.35. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

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.