AGF Management Ltd. Grows Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

AGF Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 797,030 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,419 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $53,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,655 shares of the company's stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. increased its position in AstraZeneca by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 201,513 shares of the company's stock worth $13,572,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 297.4% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 495,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,375,000 after purchasing an additional 370,859 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,362,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.6 %

AZN traded down $0.43 during trading on Friday, hitting $77.18. The company had a trading volume of 3,606,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,839,288. The company has a market cap of $239.29 billion, a PE ratio of 37.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $77.93. The business has a 50-day moving average of $69.53 and a 200-day moving average of $66.76.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZN has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.00.

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.