First Merchants Corp Acquires 1,044 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

First Merchants Corp raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 97,633 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,044 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $6,823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 7,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 28,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,062,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 4,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 23,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,743,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 5,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price target on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.6%

AstraZeneca stock opened at $85.38 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.30. The company has a market cap of $264.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $61.24 and a 52-week high of $86.57.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.84% and a net margin of 14.68%.The firm’s revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. Analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.505 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 200.0%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 37.97%.

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.