Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Takes Position in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 20,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,440,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 58.4% during the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 13,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $960,000 after acquiring an additional 4,811 shares in the last quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,066,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 706 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 78,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,472,000 after buying an additional 4,449 shares during the period. Finally, Alhambra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at $320,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $85.31 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $85.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $78.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. On average, equities 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.505 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a yield of 200.0%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 37.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 target price on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

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.