Mengis Capital Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 60,710 AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Key Points

• Mengis Capital Management Inc. has made a new investment of approximately $4.46 million in AstraZeneca PLC, acquiring 60,710 shares, which now represents about 0.9% of their total portfolio.
• AstraZeneca recently announced its earnings, reporting $1.09 earnings per share and revenues of $14.46 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• Several large investors have significantly increased their positions in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter, with Bank of America Corp DE raising its stake by 189.3%.

Mengis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 60,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,462,000. AstraZeneca accounts for 0.9% of Mengis Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AZN. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 189.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,026,966 shares of the company's stock worth $1,574,247,000 after buying an additional 15,722,197 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter worth approximately $254,018,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 220.8% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 3,027,511 shares of the company's stock worth $198,363,000 after buying an additional 2,083,645 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 815.8% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,073,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223,630 shares during the period. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1,624.6% in the 4th quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 1,234,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162,656 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on AZN. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 target price on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 1.2%

AZN stock traded up $0.86 on Friday, reaching $73.95. 9,725,399 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,003,182. The company has a market cap of $229.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.41. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $61.24 and a one year high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09. The business 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.505 dividend. This represents a yield of 200.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.44%.

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.