Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,444,589 shares of the company’s stock after selling 113,664 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.14% of AstraZeneca worth $346,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in AstraZeneca by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 147,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,917,000 after purchasing an additional 24,233 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in AstraZeneca by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 33,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in AstraZeneca by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter worth $143,999,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter worth $356,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Argus raised their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $79.04 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $81.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.35. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The company has a market capitalization of $245.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.47.

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

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.