Angeles Investment Advisors LLC Takes $358,000 Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Angeles Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $358,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AZN. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 147,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,917,000 after acquiring an additional 24,233 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 33,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,305,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth $234,000. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 12,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $847,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN stock opened at $78.27 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $81.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.24. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month 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. The company has a market cap of $242.68 billion, a PE ratio of 38.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.47.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted 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 return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business 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. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 48.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AZN. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Argus lifted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Erste Group Bank raised AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “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.