Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

AZN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.75.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of AZN stock opened at $190.20 on Thursday. Astrazeneca has a 12-month low of $122.48 and a 12-month high of $212.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $294.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.04, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.32.

Astrazeneca Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a $1.595 dividend. This represents a yield of 156.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. Astrazeneca’s payout ratio is 66.26%.

Institutional Trading of Astrazeneca

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 41,200,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,879,062,000 after buying an additional 538,606 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings 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 worth $2,503,614,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461,786 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Astrazeneca by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,791,051,000 after acquiring an additional 438,709 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 0.9% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,298,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,488,332,000 after acquiring an additional 196,401 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,878,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,435,716,000 after acquiring an additional 432,939 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Company Profile

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.