AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Purchased by First Merchants Corp

First Merchants Corp raised its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 44.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,589 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,670 shares during the quarter. First Merchants Corp's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $7,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors increased its position in AstraZeneca by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,507,159 shares of the company's stock worth $2,457,706,000 after purchasing an additional 686,008 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 189.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,026,966 shares of the company's stock worth $1,574,247,000 after acquiring an additional 15,722,197 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,480,569 shares of the company's stock worth $1,276,367,000 after acquiring an additional 357,894 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 15,186,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $995,032,000 after acquiring an additional 212,301 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,959,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $718,090,000 after acquiring an additional 479,692 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $70.07 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $70.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.31 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.38. 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 one year low of $61.24 and a one year high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $13.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 33.14%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.00.

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.

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