Perpetual Ltd Has $515,000 Stock Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Perpetual Ltd decreased its position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 60.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,606 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,513 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $515,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 7,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 3,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter worth $165,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Aspiriant LLC purchased a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter worth about $236,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings began coverage on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy (b)” rating for the company. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.75.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Astrazeneca stock opened at $203.32 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $315.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52 week low of $122.48 and a 52 week high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.595 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. This represents a dividend yield of 156.0%. Astrazeneca’s payout ratio is presently 66.26%.

Astrazeneca 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.