ORG Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

ORG Partners LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 26.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,220 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $95,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,151,177,000 after acquiring an additional 9,002,450 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the first quarter worth approximately $186,127,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $188,476,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 750.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,283,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,523,000 after buying an additional 1,132,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,934,000 after buying an additional 950,000 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN opened at $77.85 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $241.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.16, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 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 business had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is currently 48.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

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.