Professional Advisory Services Inc. Has $28.12 Million Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Professional Advisory Services Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 305,897 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,745 shares during the period. Astrazeneca accounts for approximately 3.6% of Professional Advisory Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Professional Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $28,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Astrazeneca by 4.7% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,503,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461,786 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,162,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,623,604,000 after purchasing an additional 466,745 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 9.4% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,805,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,517,000 after purchasing an additional 582,183 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 41.8% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Astrazeneca by 13.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,707,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $438,342,000 after purchasing an additional 660,569 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings assumed coverage on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy (b)” rating on the stock. 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.75.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $185.54 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $287.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.96, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.32. Astrazeneca Plc has a twelve month low of $122.48 and a twelve 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.

Astrazeneca Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were given a $1.595 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. This represents a dividend yield of 156.0%. Astrazeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.83%.

About Astrazeneca

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.