American Century Companies Inc. Grows Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,187,050 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 626,724 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $167,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 149.3% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 376.0% in the 2nd quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its position in AstraZeneca by 144.0% during the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 466 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AZN. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “sell” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Friday, February 6th. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $208.72 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $122.48 and a 52 week high of $212.71. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $135.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $102.37. The stock has a market cap of $323.71 billion, a PE ratio of 69.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.34.

AstraZeneca Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.595 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 156.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is 74.83%.

AstraZeneca Profile

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led 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’s operations span research and development, large-scale manufacturing, and commercial distribution, with a presence in developed and emerging markets worldwide.

The company focuses on several core therapy areas including oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism (CVRM), respiratory and immunology, and rare diseases.