Zions Bancorporation National Association UT Makes New $1.57 Million Investment in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Key Points

• Zions Bancorporation National Association UT invested $1.57 million in AstraZeneca PLC, acquiring 21,290 shares in the 1st quarter, as reported in its SEC filing.
• AstraZeneca has received varied price targets from analysts, with the highest set at $97.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" alongside an average price target of $89.00.
• The company's recent financial performance includes a revenue increase of 16.1% year-over-year, reporting earnings of $1.09 per share, meeting analyst expectations.

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 21,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,565,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 93.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 2,789 shares during the last quarter. American Assets Inc. bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at about $426,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,073,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 498,831 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,683,000 after purchasing an additional 5,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at about $312,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 target price on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $73.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $71.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.65. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $61.24 and a one year high of $87.68. The firm has a market cap of $228.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.36.

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

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.505 dividend. This represents a yield of 200.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.44%.

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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