Sit Investment Associates Inc. Grows Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Key Points

• Sit Investment Associates Inc. increased its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC by 42.9%, acquiring an additional 71,563 shares, bringing its total to 238,413 shares valued at $17.5 million.
• AstraZeneca recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.09 EPS, meeting consensus estimates, with revenues increasing by 16.1% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors now own 20.35% of AstraZeneca's stock, with a mix of firms adjusting their positions, indicating strong interest in the biopharmaceutical company's shares.

Sit Investment Associates Inc. increased its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 42.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 238,413 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 71,563 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $17,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% during the first 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 AstraZeneca by 0.5% in the first quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 28,053 shares of the company's stock worth $2,062,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.4% in the first quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 4,478 shares of the company's stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 642 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 2.0% in the first quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 8,575 shares of the company's stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price objective on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.9%

AZN traded up $0.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $79.17. The stock had a trading volume of 4,760,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,665,339. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $61.24 and a one year high of $87.68. The company has a market capitalization of $245.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.36. The stock's 50 day moving average is $72.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.91. 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 (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last released its 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 firm 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 posted $1.24 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect 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 will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.505 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 200.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio 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.