Toronto Dominion Bank Acquires 9,151 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 51.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,080 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,151 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 1,170.2% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 213,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,994,000 after purchasing an additional 196,772 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company's stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 2,094 shares during the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 4,156 shares of the company's stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 93.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Encompass More Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter worth approximately $314,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of AZN stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Thursday, hitting $70.37. 1,250,508 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,165,030. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $69.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.58. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $61.24 and a twelve month high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $13.59 billion for 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast 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.