544,783 Shares in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN Bought by Nuveen LLC

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC recently acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca PLC, purchasing 544,783 shares valued at approximately $40.04 million.
• AstraZeneca's stock has a market cap of $245.53 billion and reported a revenue of $14.46 billion for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• The company declared a semi-annual dividend of $0.505 per share, which translates to a dividend yield of 200.0%.

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 544,783 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,042,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 297.9% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 386 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in AstraZeneca in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.1%

AstraZeneca stock traded up $0.9080 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $80.4480. The company had a trading volume of 2,434,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,283,667. The stock has a market cap of $249.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 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. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $61.24 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $72.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.02.

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

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.505 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a yield of 200.0%. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio is 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.