USA Financial Formulas Buys New Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,554 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,290,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company's stock worth $4,151,177,000 after purchasing an additional 9,002,450 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth approximately $186,127,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $188,476,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 750.3% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,283,274 shares of the company's stock worth $100,523,000 after buying an additional 1,132,362 shares during the period. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company's stock worth $187,934,000 after buying an additional 950,000 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered AstraZeneca from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Citigroup upgraded AstraZeneca to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of AZN stock traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $76.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,616,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,141,208. The company has a market cap of $238.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.69. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $87.68. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.08 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca's payout ratio is currently 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.