AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) Hits New 12-Month High at $81.04

Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $81.04 and last traded at $81.02, with a volume of 4337371 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $79.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AZN. Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Citigroup upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Argus boosted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.8 %

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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $253.66 billion, a PE ratio of 40.10, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.45.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 94.61%.

Institutional Trading of AstraZeneca

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AZN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,151,177,000 after acquiring an additional 9,002,450 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,782,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,342,367,000 after purchasing an additional 164,183 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,684,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $988,972,000 after purchasing an additional 4,122,965 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,424,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $708,617,000 after purchasing an additional 889,178 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,404,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,361,000 after buying an additional 233,015 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.