OLD National Bancorp IN Grows Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

OLD National Bancorp IN raised its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 49.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,347 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,081 shares during the quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in AstraZeneca in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. RFP Financial Group LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 56.3% in the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 40.6% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AZN. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. TD Cowen upped their target price on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Citigroup raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $77.44 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.35. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $87.68. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $240.10 billion, a PE ratio of 37.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.49 dividend. 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%.

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.