Ameriprise Financial Inc. Grows Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,681,303 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 390,407 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of AstraZeneca worth $306,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 115.5% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,267 shares of the company's stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 4,430 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 5.8% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,649 shares of the company's stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2,618.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 734 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth $754,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS now owns 3,948 shares of the company's stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 846 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:AZN traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $67.57. The stock had a trading volume of 6,215,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,141,616. The business's 50 day moving average is $71.33 and its 200 day moving average is $69.70. The stock has a market cap of $209.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.90, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40. 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 PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.14. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. The business had revenue of $13.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.06 earnings per share. AstraZeneca's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share 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.