AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Position Boosted by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. boosted its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,608 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,475 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $6,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Cibc World Markets Corp raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 12,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $845,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 642 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Veery Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Veery Capital LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tiller Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Tiller Private Wealth Inc. now owns 3,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $67.57 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $209.55 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $61.24 and a 12-month high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.14. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. The company had revenue of $13.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.71 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.06 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

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.