Acadian Asset Management LLC Sells 48,052 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Acadian Asset Management LLC lowered its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 36.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 82,086 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,052 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $6,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 93.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789 shares during the last quarter. American Assets Inc. purchased a new position in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at $426,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 164,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,786,000 after purchasing an additional 6,039 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 59,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,923,000 after purchasing an additional 7,008 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 target price on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

NASDAQ AZN opened at $79.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $75.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.95. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $61.24 and a 1 year high of $82.41. The company has a market cap of $246.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.91, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.37.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.09. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.84% and a net margin of 14.68%.The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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