Channel Wealth LLC Grows Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Key Points

• Channel Wealth LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC by 35.1% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 14,898 shares to own a total of 57,391 shares valued at approximately $4,010,000.
• AstraZeneca reported a 16.1% year-over-year increase in revenue, reaching $14.46 billion, while earnings per share matched forecasts at $1.09 for the quarter.
• Despite recent financial performance, AstraZeneca has cut its dividend to $0.505 per share, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 37.97%.

Channel Wealth LLC grew its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 35.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,391 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,898 shares during the quarter. AstraZeneca comprises 1.1% of Channel Wealth LLC's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Channel Wealth LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $4,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 30.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,647,948 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,003,124,000 after acquiring an additional 3,224,251 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 35.9% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,036,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $368,712,000 after acquiring an additional 1,329,166 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.6% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,942,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $364,283,000 after acquiring an additional 261,064 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 7.3% in the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 4,003,070 shares of the company's stock valued at $295,387,000 after acquiring an additional 272,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 33.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,807,522 shares of the company's stock valued at $279,853,000 after acquiring an additional 948,659 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 target price on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $77.07. The company had a trading volume of 4,558,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,264,611. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $76.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $239.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.37. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $61.24 and a twelve month high of $82.41.

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

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.505 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 200.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.97%.

About AstraZeneca

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.