Integrity Alliance LLC. Makes New Investment in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Key Points

• Integrity Alliance LLC. has made a new investment in AstraZeneca PLC worth approximately $440,000, acquiring 5,982 shares in the company during the first quarter.
• AstraZeneca's stock recently fell by 1.9%, with its current market price at $79.56 and a market capitalization of $246.74 billion.
• The company reported $14.46 billion in revenue for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, but announced a cut in dividends with a recent payout yielding 200.0%.

Integrity Alliance LLC. bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 5,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $440,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in AstraZeneca by 30.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,647,948 shares of the company's stock worth $1,003,124,000 after buying an additional 3,224,251 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in AstraZeneca by 406.9% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,020,629 shares of the company's stock worth $148,517,000 after buying an additional 1,621,974 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in AstraZeneca by 35.9% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,036,645 shares of the company's stock worth $368,712,000 after buying an additional 1,329,166 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in AstraZeneca by 815.8% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,073,630 shares of the company's stock worth $70,344,000 after buying an additional 1,223,630 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in AstraZeneca by 650.1% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,234,847 shares of the company's stock worth $90,761,000 after buying an additional 1,070,223 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded down $0.49 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $77.56. The company had a trading volume of 3,408,389 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,094,605. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $61.24 and a twelve month high of $82.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $240.54 billion, a PE ratio of 29.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $76.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.94. 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 (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.505 dividend. This represents a yield of 200.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio 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.