AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Bought by Deutsche Bank AG

Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 650.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,234,847 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,070,223 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $90,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 24,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,789,000 after buying an additional 3,526 shares during the period. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 28.5% during the 1st quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 31,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,282,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 30.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,647,948 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,003,124,000 after purchasing an additional 3,224,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intrust Bank NA grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 15,820 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,764 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price objective on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 3.5%

NASDAQ AZN traded up $2.60 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $77.94. 5,008,455 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,328,437. The company has a market cap of $241.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.73. 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 1-year low of $61.24 and a 1-year high of $87.68.

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

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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