Columbia Asset Management Reduces Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Columbia Asset Management cut its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,694 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 154,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,433,000 after purchasing an additional 15,642 shares during the period. Cox Capital Mgt LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter worth about $2,683,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,537,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,160,000 after buying an additional 121,876 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at about $269,000. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 6,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus upped their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $83.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.89. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.45. The firm has a market cap of $257.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.69, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.47.

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

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 currently 48.04%.

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.