AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Purchased by Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd.

Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. raised its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 62.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 158,945 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 61,259 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $10,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,562,000. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 33,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,208,000 after acquiring an additional 3,842 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 87.2% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 8,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 4,117 shares in the last quarter. Professional Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Professional Advisory Services Inc. now owns 332,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,815,000 after purchasing an additional 56,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 3,313.5% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,723 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $68.81 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $61.24 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.45.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $13.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.06 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

About AstraZeneca

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.