MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Raises Stake in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Key Points

• MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC by 6.6%, acquiring 30,452 shares to bring its total holdings to 489,083 shares valued at approximately $35.95 million.
• AstraZeneca recently reported earnings per share of $1.09 for the last quarter, meeting analyst expectations, while achieving revenue growth of 16.1% year-over-year, totaling $14.46 billion.
• The company announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.505 per share, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 37.97%, with an ex-dividend date set for August 8th.

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 489,083 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,452 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $35,948,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $1,003,124,000 after acquiring an additional 3,224,251 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 406.9% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,020,629 shares of the company's stock worth $148,517,000 after acquiring an additional 1,621,974 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 35.9% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,036,645 shares of the company's stock worth $368,712,000 after acquiring an additional 1,329,166 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 815.8% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,073,630 shares of the company's stock worth $70,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,223,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in AstraZeneca by 650.1% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,234,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,223 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $81.16. 1,769,255 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,105,011. 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 PLC has a twelve month low of $61.24 and a twelve month high of $82.41. The company has a market cap of $251.71 billion, a PE ratio of 30.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $75.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.89.

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

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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