Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 16.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,357 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,710 shares during the quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AZN. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 154,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,433,000 after purchasing an additional 15,642 shares during the period. Cox Capital Mgt LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the first quarter worth about $2,683,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,537,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,160,000 after acquiring an additional 121,876 shares in the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at about $269,000. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 6,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of AZN stock opened at $83.05 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $81.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.71, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.47.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AZN. Argus increased their price target on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

About AstraZeneca

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.