Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Buys 87,214 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 43.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 288,071 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 87,214 shares during the quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $18,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 189.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,026,966 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,574,247,000 after buying an additional 15,722,197 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth $254,018,000. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 9,985.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,707,479 shares of the company's stock worth $243,444,000 after purchasing an additional 3,670,719 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $158,018,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 220.8% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 3,027,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $198,363,000 after acquiring an additional 2,083,645 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ AZN traded up $0.27 during trading on Thursday, reaching $69.95. 2,056,940 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,164,769. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $70.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.14. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. The business had revenue of $13.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.06 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share 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.