Focus Partners Wealth Increases Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 69,067 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,760 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $4,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 97,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,395,000 after buying an additional 6,475 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 56.2% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 11,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $735,000 after buying an additional 4,039 shares in the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 89.2% in the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 10,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $658,000 after purchasing an additional 4,738 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 164,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,786,000 after purchasing an additional 6,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 11,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 1,891 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN opened at $66.23 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $205.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.31, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $61.24 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $13.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.06 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AZN. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company’s marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.