Marotta Asset Management Invests $959,000 in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Marotta Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 13,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $959,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 9.6% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 11.1% in the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 2.7% in the first quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.4% during the first quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 41,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,881,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.3% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Friday, September 8th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. They issued a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Argus cut their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $85.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, May 26th. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ AZN traded up $0.79 on Thursday, hitting $67.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 519,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,842,844. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $52.65 and a 1-year high of $76.56. The company’s 50-day moving average is $68.51 and its 200 day moving average is $71.04. The firm has a market cap of $208.43 billion, a PE ratio of 33.39, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.50.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 28th. The company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.11. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 30.39%. The company had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.06 billion. As a group, analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.465 per share. This represents a yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 10th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.73%.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company's marketed products include Calquence, Enhertu, Faslodex, Imfinzi, Iressa, Koselugo, Lumoxiti, Lynparza, Orpathys, Tagrisso, and Zoladex for oncology; Andexxa/Ondexxya, Atacand, Atacand HCT, Atacand Plus, Brilinta/Brilique, Bydureon/Byetta, BCise, Byetta, Crestor, Evrenzo, Farxiga/Forxiga, Komboglyze/Kombiglyze XR, Lokelma, Onglyza, Qtern, Xigduo/Xigduo, and Zestril XR for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolism diseases; Accolate, Accoleit, Vanticon, Bevespi Aerosphere, Breztri Aerosphere, Bricanyl Respules and Turbuhaler, Daliresp/Daxas, Duaklir Genuair, Fasenra, Pulmicort, Rhinocort, Saphnelo, Symbicort, and Tezspire for respiratory and immunology; and Kanuma, Soliris, Strensiq, and Ultomiris for rare diseases.