Thrive Wealth Management LLC Buys New Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Thrive Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Aspire Private Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the first quarter valued at approximately $17,491,320,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 4,875.0% during the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Syverson Strege & Co bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 15.68% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 2.4 %

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $66.63 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $52.65 and a 1 year high of $76.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $68.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $206.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.50.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 28th. The company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.11. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.39% and a net margin of 13.86%. The business had revenue of $11.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.06 billion. As a group, analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 11th were given a $0.465 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on AZN shares. Argus decreased their price target on AstraZeneca from $85.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, May 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 4th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Friday, July 14th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Friday, September 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.00.

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 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.