Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $165.95 Million Stock Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 49.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 828,369 shares of the company’s stock after selling 800,402 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $165,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Astrazeneca by 546.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,667,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,315,026,000 after buying an additional 5,635,812 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 552.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,547,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,603,000 after acquiring an additional 4,697,895 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter worth approximately $675,263,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new position in Astrazeneca in the first quarter valued at approximately $473,782,000. Finally, ABN AMRO Bank N.V. increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 32,441.5% in the first quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. now owns 2,445,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $482,158,000 after acquiring an additional 2,437,657 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of AZN opened at $169.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52 week low of $137.23 and a 52 week high of $212.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.39, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $182.44 and a 200-day moving average of $188.47.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The business had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AZN. Barclays restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Astrazeneca from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.00.

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.