AstraZeneca Plc $AZN Stock: Ethic Inc. Grows Holdings

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its AstraZeneca stake by 27% in Q3, adding 13,906 shares to reach 65,326 shares valued at about $10.5 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 20.35% of the stock.
• Analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus on AstraZeneca, with a consensus price target of $206.67; 16 analysts rate it Buy and three rate it Hold.
• AstraZeneca reported quarterly EPS of $2.79, beating estimates of $2.60, while revenue of $16.21 billion topped forecasts and rose 6.5% year over year.

Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in AstraZeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 27.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,326 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,906 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $10,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Amundi increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 6.7% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 16,422,784 shares of the company's stock worth $3,114,088,000 after acquiring an additional 1,036,635 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 889.9% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,949,424 shares of the company's stock worth $2,319,947,000 after acquiring an additional 10,742,268 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 208.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,386,455 shares of the company's stock worth $2,048,417,000 after acquiring an additional 7,021,126 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 106,772.0% in the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 8,054,943 shares of the company's stock worth $1,560,419,000 after acquiring an additional 8,047,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 6,690,300 shares of the company's stock worth $1,252,044,000 after acquiring an additional 160,339 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of AstraZeneca from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings raised AstraZeneca from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen raised AstraZeneca from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Finally, HSBC lowered AstraZeneca from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.67.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN opened at $186.62 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $289.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.24. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $166.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.22. AstraZeneca Plc has a 1 year low of $153.41 and a 1 year high of $212.71.

AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $2.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 17.68% and a return on equity of 31.85%. The business's revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.38 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca Plc will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca plc is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The company discovers, develops and commercializes prescription medicines, with a focus on oncology, biopharmaceuticals and rare diseases. Its research and commercial operations serve patients and healthcare systems across more than 100 countries.

AstraZeneca’s portfolio includes medicines for cancer, respiratory and immune-mediated conditions, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases, and rare disorders.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AZN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for AstraZeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.