AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 27.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,546 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 9,002,450 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,782,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,342,367,000 after purchasing an additional 164,183 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,684,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $988,972,000 after purchasing an additional 4,122,965 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,424,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $708,617,000 after purchasing an additional 889,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,404,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,361,000 after buying an additional 233,015 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 3.0 %

NASDAQ:AZN traded down $2.49 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $79.32. 4,937,015 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,363,509. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $245.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.05, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.45. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $82.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.36.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Argus increased their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $88.00.

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.