AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Bought by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 66.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,090,858 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 837,645 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.07% of AstraZeneca worth $145,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 4,875.0% during the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Syverson Strege & Co purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AZN. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, August 23rd. They issued a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Argus lowered their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $85.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, May 26th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Friday, September 8th. Finally, HSBC initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Friday, July 14th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $67.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.91, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.50. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $52.65 and a one year high of $76.56. The company’s fifty day moving average is $68.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.87.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.06 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 30.39%. Analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 3.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.465 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is currently 45.73%.

AstraZeneca Profile

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company's marketed products include Calquence, Enhertu, Faslodex, Imfinzi, Iressa, Koselugo, Lumoxiti, Lynparza, Orpathys, Tagrisso, and Zoladex for oncology; Andexxa/Ondexxya, Atacand, Atacand HCT, Atacand Plus, Brilinta/Brilique, Bydureon/Byetta, BCise, Byetta, Crestor, Evrenzo, Farxiga/Forxiga, Komboglyze/Kombiglyze XR, Lokelma, Onglyza, Qtern, Xigduo/Xigduo, and Zestril XR for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolism diseases; Accolate, Accoleit, Vanticon, Bevespi Aerosphere, Breztri Aerosphere, Bricanyl Respules and Turbuhaler, Daliresp/Daxas, Duaklir Genuair, Fasenra, Pulmicort, Rhinocort, Saphnelo, Symbicort, and Tezspire for respiratory and immunology; and Kanuma, Soliris, Strensiq, and Ultomiris for rare diseases.