Cidel Asset Management Inc. Has $41.93 Million Position in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 4.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 599,997 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,292 shares during the quarter. AstraZeneca makes up 2.5% of Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $41,928,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 30.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,647,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,003,124,000 after purchasing an additional 3,224,251 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 14,797.3% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,322,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,306,000 after purchasing an additional 2,307,047 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 406.9% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,020,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,621,974 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 35.9% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,036,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,712,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 650.1% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,234,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,223 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ AZN opened at $84.69 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $61.24 and a 12 month high of $86.57. The stock has a market cap of $262.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $80.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.09. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.84% and a net margin of 14.68%.The company had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.505 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 200.0%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price objective on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

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.