Truist Financial Corp Has $141.45 Million Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Key Points

• Truist Financial increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 53.7% in Q4 to 1,538,680 shares, valued at about $141.45 million.
• Several other large institutions (Bank of Montreal, Holocene Advisors, Raymond James, Bank of America, Allspring) also raised positions, leaving institutional investors with roughly 20.35% ownership.
• AstraZeneca posted a Q1 earnings beat and drew multiple analyst upgrades, but faces near‑term downside risk after an FDA advisory committee voted against camizestrant and Deutsche Bank reiterated a sell rating.

Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 53.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,538,680 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 537,908 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp's holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $141,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 344.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,478,114 shares of the company's stock worth $266,841,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695,793 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $470,232,000 after buying an additional 1,807,565 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 64.8% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,783,251 shares of the company's stock valued at $264,373,000 after buying an additional 1,487,662 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,503,614,000 after buying an additional 1,461,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 750.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,628,771 shares of the company's stock valued at $149,147,000 after buying an additional 1,437,253 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

More Astrazeneca News

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays upgraded AZN from "neutral" to "buy", citing favorable risk/reward at the current level which can support upside as late‑year pipeline readouts approach. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: DZ Bank also upgraded AZN to "buy", adding analyst endorsement momentum that can help stabilize the stock after recent weakness. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised 2026 core EPS forecasts and reiterated a "buy" rating, highlighting the company’s Q1 beat and a pipeline-rich second half — a catalyst narrative that could support medium‑term upside. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Independent outlets (24/7 Wall St.) reiterated a bullish thesis, noting more than 20 Phase III readouts ahead and a price target implying meaningful upside — adds to longer‑term investor confidence. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: AstraZeneca exercised an option to license Pinetree’s EGFR degrader program (PTX‑299), triggering a $25M payment — a small near‑term cash outflow for potentially valuable oncology IP and collaboration upside. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: An FDA Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 6‑3 against recommending camizestrant for a first‑line HR+ breast cancer setting, citing trial‑design/benefit‑risk concerns — this is the primary near‑term negative driver and increases regulatory risk for a key oncology asset. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a "sell" rating, keeping a portion of the sell‑side negative pressure on the stock despite other upgrades. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group trimmed its FY‑2026 EPS estimate slightly, a reminder that some analysts are tightening near‑term EPS assumptions even after the Q1 beat. Read More.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of AZN stock opened at $184.63 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $196.02 and a 200-day moving average of $180.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12-month low of $132.32 and a 12-month high of $212.71. The firm has a market cap of $286.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.72, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.26.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Astrazeneca Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Eleven 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 company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.33.

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.

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.