Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 148,042 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 249.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 207,497 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 148,042 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $14,058,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 468.4% in the 4th quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 449 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. RFP Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 56.3% during the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 86.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $81.81 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $253.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.10, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.45. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $82.01. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $78.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.32.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 94.61%.

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.