AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Bought by Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 65.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,915 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,794 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 28.6% during the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 47,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,249,000 after acquiring an additional 10,672 shares during the period. Talisman Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter valued at $202,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,151,177,000 after purchasing an additional 9,002,450 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 647.6% in the 1st quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 880,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,676,000 after buying an additional 763,013 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 36.3% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 482,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,704,000 after buying an additional 128,616 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Argus upped their price target on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $77.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $241.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s fifty day moving average is $78.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $80.86.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Equities analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 94.61%.

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.