Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group Cuts Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group cut its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,548 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,629 shares during the quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AZN. SAL Trading LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 337.2% in the 2nd quarter. SAL Trading LLC now owns 78,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,138,000 after acquiring an additional 60,700 shares during the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at about $407,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in AstraZeneca by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 307,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,017,000 after acquiring an additional 26,213 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 39.1% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 206,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,104,000 after purchasing an additional 58,039 shares during the period. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 6.8% in the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on AZN. Citigroup raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective 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. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Barclays raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.7 %

AZN stock opened at $77.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business has a 50 day moving average of $81.68 and a 200 day moving average of $76.97. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The firm has a market cap of $240.66 billion, a PE ratio of 38.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.47.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.04%.

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.