Carnegie Investment Counsel Buys 138 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,269 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AZN. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 8,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 19.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 860 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 40.6% during 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 period. Sunpointe LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 3,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Gallacher Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 5,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Argus lifted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock traded down $0.30 on Wednesday, hitting $84.83. 612,600 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,306,237. The stock has a market capitalization of $263.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.70. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $85.65. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.04%.

About AstraZeneca

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.