Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases New Stake in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,070,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,001,000. Astrazeneca makes up approximately 0.6% of Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,791,051,000 after acquiring an additional 438,709 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Astrazeneca by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,157,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,537,684,000 after purchasing an additional 445,014 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in Astrazeneca by 146,574.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 15,386,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,034,456,000 after purchasing an additional 15,375,659 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Astrazeneca by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,878,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,435,716,000 after purchasing an additional 432,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Astrazeneca by 889.9% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,949,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,319,947,000 after purchasing an additional 10,742,268 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE AZN opened at $164.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.89. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1 year low of $145.79 and a 1 year high of $212.71. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $171.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.95. The firm has a market cap of $255.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.58, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.26.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.13. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.17 earnings per share. Astrazeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. HSBC cut Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.67.

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.