AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Holdings Boosted by Quattro Financial Advisors LLC

Quattro Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 138.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,922 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,922 shares during the period. AstraZeneca accounts for 0.2% of Quattro Financial Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Quattro Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position 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 buying an additional 9,002,450 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth approximately $186,127,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $188,476,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 750.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,283,274 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 65.1% in the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,934,000 after purchasing an additional 950,000 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective 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. Citigroup upgraded AstraZeneca to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays raised AstraZeneca to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded AstraZeneca from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $78.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,282,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,070,409. The business's 50 day moving average is $81.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.04. 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 firm has a market cap of $242.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. 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%.

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.