Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Sells 24,703 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 510,947 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,703 shares during the quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $39,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 242,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,581,000 after purchasing an additional 15,065 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 11.6% during the third quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 61,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,751,000 after buying an additional 6,444 shares during the last quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 23.6% during the third quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 1,014 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 20.0% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,089,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,595,000 after buying an additional 181,273 shares during the period. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its position in AstraZeneca by 1.5% during the third quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $994,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. HSBC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $206.22 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $319.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $131.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.36. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $122.48 and a 52-week high of $212.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

AstraZeneca Dividend Announcement

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

About AstraZeneca

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.