Alhambra Investment Management LLC Makes New $320,000 Investment in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Key Points

• Alhambra Investment Management LLC made a new investment of approximately $320,000 in AstraZeneca PLC during the second quarter, purchasing 4,580 shares.
• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. significantly increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 30.9%, now holding over 13.6 million shares valued at approximately $1 billion.
• Analyst ratings for AstraZeneca include a Moderate Buy consensus with a price target of $86.00, while Berenberg Bank set a specific price objective of $97.00.

Alhambra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,580 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,647,948 shares of the company's stock worth $1,003,124,000 after acquiring an additional 3,224,251 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 35.9% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,036,645 shares of the company's stock worth $368,712,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329,166 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,942,367 shares of the company's stock worth $364,283,000 after purchasing an additional 261,064 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,077,554 shares of the company's stock worth $284,939,000 after purchasing an additional 701,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 4,003,070 shares of the company's stock worth $295,387,000 after purchasing an additional 272,537 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price objective on AstraZeneca in a 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 2.0%

NASDAQ AZN opened at $75.97 on Wednesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $82.41. 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 50 day simple moving average of $76.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.96. The stock has a market cap of $235.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.37.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 EPS. The business's revenue 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 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 given a $0.505 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 200.0%. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio 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.

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