Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Buys 11,315 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 82.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,967 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,315 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted 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 purchasing an additional 9,002,450 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 29,497 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,417,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $266,565,000 after purchasing an additional 488,644 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,403,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $265,458,000 after purchasing an additional 186,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its position in AstraZeneca by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 2,990,234 shares of the company's stock worth $202,588,000 after purchasing an additional 134,784 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $78.31. The company had a trading volume of 3,229,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,094,800. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $81.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.04. The firm has a market cap of $242.81 billion, a PE ratio of 37.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.46. 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 PLC has a one year low of $60.47 and a one year high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca's payout ratio is currently 47.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AZN shares. Citigroup raised AstraZeneca to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Barclays raised shares of AstraZeneca to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AstraZeneca from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered AstraZeneca from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Company 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.