AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Acquired by Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC

Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,699 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American International Group Inc. increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 40,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,725,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the first quarter worth $2,734,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 81.3% in the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter valued at $251,000. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth $315,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN stock opened at $77.44 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $240.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.96, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $81.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.35.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. AstraZeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors 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 (DPR) is 48.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on AZN. Barclays raised shares of 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. Erste Group Bank raised AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate 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.