James Investment Research Inc. Decreases Stake in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Key Points

• James Investment Research cut its AstraZeneca stake by 21.1% in Q4, selling 12,616 shares and retaining 47,192 shares worth about $4.34 million.
• Other large institutions—including Bank of America, Fisher, Dimensional, Holocene and Ameriprise—added to their AZN positions, with institutional ownership totaling about 20.35%.
• AstraZeneca stock opened at $189.71 (market cap ~$294.2B) and recently paid a dividend of $1.595 per share (ex-dividend Feb 20); Wall Street consensus is a “Moderate Buy” with a reported target of $102.67.

James Investment Research Inc. reduced its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,192 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,616 shares during the period. James Investment Research Inc.'s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $4,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 4.7% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company's stock worth $2,503,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461,786 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Astrazeneca by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,162,724 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,623,604,000 after buying an additional 466,745 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Astrazeneca by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,805,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $521,517,000 after buying an additional 582,183 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $470,232,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807,565 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,707,561 shares of the company's stock valued at $438,342,000 after acquiring an additional 660,569 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 0.0%

Astrazeneca stock opened at $189.71 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Astrazeneca Plc has a fifty-two week low of $132.32 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $294.22 billion, a PE ratio of 32.68, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.35.

Astrazeneca Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.595 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. This represents a dividend yield of 156.0%. Astrazeneca's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Astrazeneca from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Citigroup started coverage on Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.67.

Astrazeneca Profile

AstraZeneca plc is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.

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