NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Sells 370 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lessened its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,774 shares of the company’s stock after selling 370 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth $10,395,000. Financial Counselors Inc. grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 7,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 113.0% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 95,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,444,000 after buying an additional 50,750 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth about $539,000. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 31,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,126,000 after acquiring an additional 2,530 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Argus boosted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of AstraZeneca stock traded down $0.09 on Wednesday, hitting $83.28. The company had a trading volume of 1,744,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,356,393. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $79.14 and a 200-day moving average of $73.07. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $83.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $258.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 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 earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (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 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 48.04%.

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.