Ritholtz Wealth Management Buys 8,215 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Key Points

• Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 10.9%, acquiring an additional 8,215 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 83,686 shares worth approximately $5.85 million.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for AstraZeneca, with a target price averaging $86.00, following a solid earnings report that matched expectations at $1.09 EPS.
• AstraZeneca recently announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.505, representing a yield of 200.0%, and the company's current dividend payout ratio stands at 37.97%.

Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 10.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,686 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,215 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $5,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 93.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 43.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,878 shares of the company's stock worth $579,000 after buying an additional 2,380 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.8% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 311,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,903,000 after buying an additional 5,557 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 58.4% during the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 13,055 shares of the company's stock valued at $960,000 after acquiring an additional 4,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at approximately $21,926,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 target price on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.7%

AZN stock opened at $85.12 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $263.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.86. The business's 50-day moving average is $79.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.62. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $86.57.

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

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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