Cohen Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Cohen Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 4.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,004 shares of the company’s stock after selling 291 shares during the period. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 30.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,647,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,003,124,000 after purchasing an additional 3,224,251 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 35.9% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,036,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,712,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329,166 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.6% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,942,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,283,000 after purchasing an additional 261,064 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 20.8% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,077,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,939,000 after purchasing an additional 701,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 7.3% in the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 4,003,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,387,000 after purchasing an additional 272,537 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN opened at $85.38 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $78.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.30. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $61.24 and a 12-month high of $86.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $264.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.10, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.36.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.505 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 200.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 target price on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

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.