American Century Companies Inc. Has $148.52 Million Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC by 406.9% during the first quarter, now owning 2,020,629 shares valued at $148.52 million.
• AstraZeneca's stock is currently priced at $79.17, with a market cap of $245.53 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.76.
• The company recently announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.505 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 200.0%, and a payout ratio of 37.97%.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 406.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,020,629 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,621,974 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.07% of AstraZeneca worth $148,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,507,159 shares of the company's stock worth $2,457,706,000 after buying an additional 686,008 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 189.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,026,966 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,574,247,000 after purchasing an additional 15,722,197 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,322,388 shares of the company's stock worth $348,730,000 after purchasing an additional 636,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 35.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price target on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock traded up $0.42 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $79.54. 3,684,070 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,302,222. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $72.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.97. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $61.24 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $246.68 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $14.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.505 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 200.0%. AstraZeneca's payout ratio is 37.97%.

About AstraZeneca

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.