Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Reduces Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD has reduced its stake in AstraZeneca PLC by 5.4%, now holding approximately 57 million shares valued at around $4.20 billion.
• In the last quarter, several institutional investors, including Bank of America and Goldman Sachs, significantly increased their holdings in AstraZeneca, reflecting strong interest from the investment community.
• AstraZeneca recently reported a quarterly revenue of $14.46 billion, surpassing analyst expectations and showing a 16.1% year-over-year increase.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD cut its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,086,881 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,265,092 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 1.84% of AstraZeneca worth $4,195,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 7,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 28,053 shares of the company's stock worth $2,062,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 4,478 shares of the company's stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 642 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 8,575 shares of the company's stock worth $630,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $80.04. 3,613,086 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,239,508. The company has a market cap of $248.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.36. The company's 50 day moving average is $73.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.30. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $61.24 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.84% and a net margin of 14.68%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors 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 yield of 200.0%. AstraZeneca's payout ratio is currently 37.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.