TIAA Trust National Association Sells 48,929 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

TIAA Trust National Association lessened its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 20.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 186,670 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,929 shares during the quarter. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $14,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 5,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,843,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,786,000 after acquiring an additional 277,946 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 30.8% in the 2nd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 57,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,518,000 after acquiring an additional 13,640 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter worth $226,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $85.72 on Wednesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The company has a market cap of $265.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.02, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $81.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.33.

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 firm had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

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.