Creative Planning Grows Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Creative Planning boosted its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 224,751 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,692 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $17,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1,614.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 56.3% during the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $77.44 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The company has a market capitalization of $240.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $81.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.35.

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 the consensus estimate 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is currently 48.04%.

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.