Rhumbline Advisers Has $2.07 Million Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Rhumbline Advisers lessened its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,142 shares of the company’s stock after selling 981 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,828,000. Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the first quarter worth approximately $16,010,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its position in AstraZeneca by 3.1% during the first quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 8,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in AstraZeneca by 11.9% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 17,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,321,000 after buying an additional 1,910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in AstraZeneca by 15.3% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 79,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,854,000 after buying an additional 10,573 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of AZN opened at $77.69 on Thursday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $61.24 and a 52 week high of $82.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $240.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.21, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $76.41 and a 200-day moving average of $73.01.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.09. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.84% and a net margin of 14.68%.AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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

AstraZeneca 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.