Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Lowers Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Key Points

• Teachers Retirement System of the State of Kentucky cut its AstraZeneca stake by 17.8% in Q4, selling 26,222 shares and leaving it with 121,018 shares valued at about $11.13 million.
• AstraZeneca recently paid a dividend of $1.595 per share (record date Feb 20, paid Mar 23) and the company’s reported payout ratio is 74.83%.
• Analyst views are mixed but the consensus rating is a Moderate Buy; the stock trades near $189.71 with a market cap of roughly $294.2 billion and a P/E of about 32.7.

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky reduced its stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 17.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,018 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,222 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $11,125,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Klingman & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,792 shares of the company's stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Astrazeneca by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,120 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 50,240 shares of the company's stock worth $4,619,000 after purchasing an additional 11,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Astrazeneca during the fourth quarter worth $2,900,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE AZN opened at $189.71 on Monday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52 week low of $132.32 and a 52 week high of $212.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $294.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.68, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.35.

Astrazeneca Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th were paid 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 payout ratio is presently 74.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AZN. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Astrazeneca from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Weiss Ratings assumed coverage on Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy (b)" rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.67.

About Astrazeneca

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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