Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Purchases 12,894 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 98,021 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,894 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $7,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,507,159 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,457,706,000 after acquiring an additional 686,008 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 189.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,026,966 shares of the company's stock worth $1,574,247,000 after buying an additional 15,722,197 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,480,569 shares of the company's stock worth $1,276,367,000 after buying an additional 357,894 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 15,186,692 shares of the company's stock worth $995,032,000 after buying an additional 212,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,322,388 shares of the company's stock worth $348,730,000 after buying an additional 636,537 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BNP Paribas started coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock traded down $1.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $69.60. 6,768,010 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,264,380. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.90. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $61.24 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The company has a market cap of $215.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.95, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $70.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.64.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 33.14% and a net margin of 14.14%. AstraZeneca's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.06 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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.