Mengis Capital Management Inc. Grows Stake in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Key Points

• Mengis Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC by 20% in Q2, acquiring a total of 72,860 shares valued at approximately $5.09 million, making it the 21st largest position in its investment portfolio.
• Several institutional investors, including Goldman Sachs and Boston Partners, also raised their stakes in AstraZeneca by noteworthy percentages, indicating significant interest from large investment firms.
• AstraZeneca has received positive analyst ratings, with a consensus of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $86, despite the company recently announcing a dividend yield of 200% with a payout ratio of 37.97%.

Mengis Capital Management Inc. grew its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,860 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,150 shares during the quarter. AstraZeneca comprises approximately 1.1% of Mengis Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Mengis Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $5,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 30.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,647,948 shares of the company's stock worth $1,003,124,000 after purchasing an additional 3,224,251 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 35.9% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,036,645 shares of the company's stock worth $368,712,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329,166 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 5.6% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,942,367 shares of the company's stock worth $364,283,000 after purchasing an additional 261,064 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 20.8% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,077,554 shares of the company's stock worth $284,939,000 after purchasing an additional 701,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 7.3% in the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 4,003,070 shares of the company's stock worth $295,387,000 after purchasing an additional 272,537 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ AZN opened at $85.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $263.74 billion, a PE ratio of 31.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of $78.97 and a 200 day moving average of $73.37. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $61.24 and a 1 year high of $86.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

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, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09. The company had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 32.84%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast 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 given a dividend of $0.505 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a yield of 200.0%. AstraZeneca's payout ratio is currently 37.97%.

AstraZeneca 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.

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