Summit Securities Group LLC Boosts Stake in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Key Points

• Summit Securities Group LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC by 2,065.1% in Q1, owning 12,233 shares valued at $899,000 as per their latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors significantly enhanced their holdings in AstraZeneca, with Bank of America Corp DE increasing its position by 189.3% to nearly $1.57 billion.
• AstraZeneca recently cut its dividend to $0.505 per share, representing a yield of 200.0%, while reporting quarterly earnings that matched analyst expectations.

Summit Securities Group LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 2,065.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,233 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,668 shares during the quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $899,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Seven Mile Advisory lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 11.1% during the first quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 4,560 shares of the company's stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Corient IA LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth about $514,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 49,954 shares of the company's stock worth $3,672,000 after purchasing an additional 4,893 shares during the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new position in AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter valued at about $211,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 406.9% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,020,629 shares of the company's stock worth $148,517,000 after buying an additional 1,621,974 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

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 given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of AZN traded up $0.98 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $80.52. The company had a trading volume of 3,571,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,291,307. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $61.24 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.02. The stock has a market cap of $249.72 billion, a PE ratio of 30.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.36.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.09. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 32.84%. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast 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 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 of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a yield of 200.0%. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.