Patten Group Inc. Has $4.12 Million Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Patten Group Inc. reduced its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,867 shares of the company’s stock after selling 525 shares during the period. AstraZeneca makes up about 0.9% of Patten Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Patten Group Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $4,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth $366,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter worth approximately $421,000. Ethic Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 86,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,858,000 after acquiring an additional 8,394 shares in the last quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 7,064.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 40,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 39,913 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth about $5,507,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $77.51 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $240.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.99, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $81.54 and its 200 day moving average is $77.68. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.89.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released 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. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. Barclays raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.