AstraZeneca PLC $AZN Shares Sold by Focus Financial Network Inc.

Focus Financial Network Inc. lowered its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,497 shares of the company’s stock after selling 165 shares during the quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 30.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,647,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,003,124,000 after purchasing an additional 3,224,251 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 406.9% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,020,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,517,000 after acquiring an additional 1,621,974 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 35.9% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,036,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,712,000 after acquiring an additional 1,329,166 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 650.1% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,234,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,761,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070,223 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 33.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,807,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,853,000 after purchasing an additional 948,659 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

AstraZeneca Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of AZN stock opened at $76.28 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $82.41. The stock has a market cap of $236.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.97. 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 (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.84% and a net margin of 14.68%.The business had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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

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.