American Century Companies Inc. Lowers Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 38.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 520,223 shares of the company’s stock after selling 327,510 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $40,572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in AstraZeneca by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 154,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,433,000 after purchasing an additional 15,642 shares in the last quarter. Cox Capital Mgt LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,683,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in AstraZeneca by 8.6% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,537,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,160,000 after acquiring an additional 121,876 shares during the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the second quarter worth approximately $269,000. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 6,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AZN shares. Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Argus raised their price target on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $78.53 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The company has a market cap of $243.49 billion, a PE ratio of 38.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $81.78 and a 200 day moving average of $76.45.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.04%.

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.