Voya Investment Management LLC Purchases 443,795 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC by 25.2%, acquiring an additional 443,795 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately 2.2 million shares valued at $162.2 million.
• Institutions own 20.35% of AstraZeneca's stock, indicating significant interest from institutional investors in the biopharmaceutical company.
• AstraZeneca reported a revenue increase of 16.1% year-over-year, achieving $14.46 billion for the quarter, and met earnings expectations with an EPS of $1.09.

Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 25.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,207,105 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 443,795 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned 0.07% of AstraZeneca worth $162,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 7,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.5% during the first quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 28,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,062,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.4% during the first quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 4,478 shares of the company's stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 642 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.7% during the first quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 23,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,743,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price target on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock traded up $0.43 on Wednesday, hitting $77.99. 3,108,052 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,082,812. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.88 billion, a PE ratio of 29.31, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.37. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $61.24 and a 1 year high of $82.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.86.

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

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.505 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 200.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.97%.

About AstraZeneca

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.