Fisher Asset Management LLC Increases Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 524,175 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $816,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 58.1% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 55,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,323,000 after purchasing an additional 20,398 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.4% in the third quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 10,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $829,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 4,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 72.7% during the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 4,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 199,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,537,000 after buying an additional 46,575 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $65.63 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.49 billion, a PE ratio of 31.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.80.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZN has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca 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.