AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Stock Holdings Increased by Lion Street Advisors LLC

Lion Street Advisors LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,462 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Lion Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the first quarter worth $29,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 468.4% in the fourth quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 449 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1,614.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 463 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the period. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 56.3% in the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 494 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN stock traded down $0.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $81.19. 3,078,360 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,345,006. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.80. The company has a market capitalization of $251.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.45. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $82.01.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AZN. Citigroup upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Argus increased their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.00.

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.