National Bank of Canada FI Sells 45,178 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 25.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 132,635 shares of the company's stock after selling 45,178 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $9,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,590 shares of the company's stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter valued at $271,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 45,246 shares of the company's stock worth $3,326,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth about $702,000. Finally, Blue Barn Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth about $201,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock traded up $0.70 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $79.17. 4,760,279 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,576,905. The firm has a market capitalization of $245.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.76, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.36. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $72.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.91. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $61.24 and a 52 week high of $87.68.

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

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.505 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a yield of 200.0%. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.97%.

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.