Deutsche Bank AG Grows Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 164,624 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,039 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $10,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 12,901 shares of the company's stock worth $845,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company's stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 642 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Veery Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Veery Capital LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tiller Private Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Tiller Private Wealth Inc. now owns 3,350 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $69.92. The stock had a trading volume of 4,295,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,182,721. The company has a market capitalization of $216.84 billion, a PE ratio of 30.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.43. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $61.24 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm 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%. AstraZeneca's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.06 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.