Janus Henderson Group PLC Raises Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,044,259 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 374,705 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 0.07% of AstraZeneca worth $133,937,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 189.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,026,966 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,574,247,000 after acquiring an additional 15,722,197 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth $254,018,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 9,985.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,707,479 shares of the company's stock worth $243,444,000 after buying an additional 3,670,719 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at about $158,018,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 220.8% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 3,027,511 shares of the company's stock worth $198,363,000 after buying an additional 2,083,645 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZN traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $68.81. The stock had a trading volume of 3,742,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,167,268. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $61.24 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.52. The stock has a market cap of $213.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $13.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. The company's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.06 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AZN. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.00.

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.