Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Increases Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 86,163 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,737 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $6,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 49,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,867,000 after acquiring an additional 5,779 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 208,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,227,000 after acquiring an additional 32,132 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 69.1% during the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 13,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 5,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 35.3% during the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 5,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 1,436 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of AZN opened at $79.58 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $87.68. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $81.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.28.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities 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 was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. Citigroup upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. TD Cowen raised their price target on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

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.