Savvy Advisors Inc. Purchases New Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in AstraZeneca by 297.9% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 target price on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $73.56 on Monday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $61.24 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The company has a market cap of $228.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.65, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.36. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $71.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.67.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09. The firm had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 32.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.505 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 200.0%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.97%.

AstraZeneca 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.