Beacon Capital Management LLC Acquires 591 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 339.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 765 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 591 shares during the quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $52,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth approximately $740,000. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth approximately $327,000. Redwood Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth approximately $313,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 23,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,592,000 after acquiring an additional 6,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth approximately $914,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ AZN traded up $2.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $81.19. 5,394,536 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,348,207. The business’s 50 day moving average is $78.55 and its 200-day moving average is $72.13. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $81.40. The company has a market capitalization of $251.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.89.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.61%.

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.