Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $283,000.
Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 93.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 2,789 shares in the last quarter. American Assets Inc. acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at about $426,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,073,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 498,831 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,683,000 after buying an additional 5,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 30,759 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,015,000 after buying an additional 2,158 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
AZN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price target on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.00.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on AZN
AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.2%
Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $73.95 on Monday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $61.24 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The company has a market cap of $229.34 billion, a PE ratio of 27.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.44.
AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 32.84%. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.505 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 200.0%. AstraZeneca's payout ratio is currently 77.44%.
About AstraZeneca
(
Free Report)
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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