AstraZeneca PLC $AZN Holdings Raised by Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.

Key Points

• Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. increased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC by 1.2%, owning 823,961 shares valued at approximately $60.56 million.
• AstraZeneca's stock has a consensus buy rating with a price target of $86.00, while Berenberg Bank recently set a price objective of $97.00.
• The company reported $1.09 EPS for the last quarter, meeting expectations, with a quarterly revenue of $14.46 billion, surpassing analyst forecasts.

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 823,961 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,883 shares during the period. AstraZeneca accounts for approximately 1.8% of Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $60,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 93.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 2,789 shares during the last quarter. American Assets Inc. bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $426,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 27,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,806,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,692,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $307,464,000 after acquiring an additional 952,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 74.5% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 36,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,378,000 after acquiring an additional 15,499 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of AstraZeneca stock traded down $0.09 on Friday, hitting $79.90. 2,824,737 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,102,537. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $73.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $61.24 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The company has a market cap of $247.80 billion, a PE ratio of 30.04, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.36.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.09. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 32.84%. The company's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.505 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 200.0%. AstraZeneca's payout ratio is 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.