Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Buys 677,700 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio significantly increased its AstraZeneca stake in the first quarter, buying 677,700 additional shares and lifting its holdings to 957,000 shares worth about $186.1 million.
• Institutional interest in AZN remains strong overall, with institutions owning about 20.35% of the stock; other big holders also added shares, including Bank of New York Mellon and the Swiss National Bank.
• Wall Street sentiment is mostly positive, with 13 analysts rating AstraZeneca a Buy and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus target of $211. AstraZeneca also recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, though the stock was down 0.8% in Friday trading.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 242.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 957,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 677,700 shares during the quarter. Astrazeneca accounts for about 0.6% of Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned approximately 0.06% of Astrazeneca worth $186,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AZN. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,791,051,000 after buying an additional 438,709 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,157,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,537,684,000 after acquiring an additional 445,014 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,878,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,435,716,000 after acquiring an additional 432,939 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 546.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,667,812 shares of the company's stock worth $1,315,026,000 after purchasing an additional 5,635,812 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the first quarter worth about $1,202,714,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. HSBC cut shares of Astrazeneca from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:AZN opened at $168.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $180.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $188.05. The company has a market capitalization of $261.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.24. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1-year low of $142.98 and a 1-year high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. The business had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Astrazeneca Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AZN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.