Cetera Advisors LLC Has $6.66 Million Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 124.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 98,262 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,488 shares during the quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $6,657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 468.4% in the 4th quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 56.3% in the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 494 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 86.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 40.6% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded up $0.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $81.81. The company had a trading volume of 7,066,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,275,103. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $82.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $253.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.28. 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 (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is currently 94.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on AZN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $88.00.

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.