EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 800 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,117 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cox Capital Mgt LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,683,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 8.6% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,537,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,160,000 after buying an additional 121,876 shares during the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca in the second quarter worth $269,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 9.7% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 6,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 124.5% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 98,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,657,000 after acquiring an additional 54,488 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $77.14 on Tuesday. 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 twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The company has a market cap of $239.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50 day moving average is $81.80 and its 200 day moving average is $76.73.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released 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 firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AZN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Argus raised their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

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.