AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Stock Position Raised by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 112.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,685 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,241 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,067,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,151,177,000 after buying an additional 9,002,450 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,376,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $631,487,000 after acquiring an additional 205,185 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,365,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $634,525,000 after acquiring an additional 29,497 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,417,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,565,000 after purchasing an additional 488,644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 2,990,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,588,000 after purchasing an additional 134,784 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AZN. TD Cowen lifted their price target on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Citigroup raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $77.35 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.37, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 13.11%. The firm had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is currently 47.34%.

AstraZeneca Profile

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.