Invesco Ltd. Lowers Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Invesco Ltd. reduced its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,858,863 shares of the company’s stock after selling 78,186 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.09% of AstraZeneca worth $187,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 9,985.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,707,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,444,000 after acquiring an additional 3,670,719 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at $158,018,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,715 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,101,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 15,819.8% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,179,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,249,000 after buying an additional 1,171,612 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AZN. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 2.2 %

AZN opened at $66.29 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $61.24 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.58 billion, a PE ratio of 29.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $73.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.88.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. As a group, research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 91.15%.

AstraZeneca 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.