AstraZeneca PLC $AZN Holdings Decreased by Oak Ridge Investments LLC

Key Points

• Oak Ridge Investments LLC reduced its stake in AstraZeneca PLC by 37.0% during the first quarter, selling 53,241 shares to hold 90,732 shares worth approximately $6.67 million.
• In contrast, several other investors, including Lindbrook Capital LLC and Principal Securities Inc., have increased their positions in AstraZeneca during the same period.
• AstraZeneca recently announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.505, which will yield about 200.0%, despite a decrease in its earnings per share compared to the previous year.

Oak Ridge Investments LLC trimmed its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 37.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 90,732 shares of the company's stock after selling 53,241 shares during the quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $6,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 7,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 28,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,062,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 4,478 shares of the company's stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 642 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 8,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $630,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 target price on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Four 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.5%

AZN stock traded up $0.3880 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $79.5080. 1,557,449 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,288,364. 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 12-month low of $61.24 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $72.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $246.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.36.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. AstraZeneca's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.505 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a yield of 200.0%. AstraZeneca's payout ratio is currently 37.97%.

AstraZeneca Company 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.