5,954,417 Shares in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Purchased by SEB Asset Management AB

SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,954,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,157,593,000. Astrazeneca comprises 4.9% of SEB Asset Management AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. SEB Asset Management AB owned about 0.38% of Astrazeneca as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 438,709 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,157,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,537,684,000 after buying an additional 445,014 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,878,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,435,716,000 after buying an additional 432,939 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 546.1% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,667,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,315,026,000 after buying an additional 5,635,812 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank acquired a new position in Astrazeneca in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,202,714,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on AZN shares. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. DZ Bank raised Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE AZN opened at $168.81 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $261.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $182.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $188.43. 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.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. Analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

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.