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

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 43.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 288,071 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 87,214 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $18,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew 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 buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949 shares in the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 143,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,433,000 after buying an additional 7,341 shares during the last quarter. Asio Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 53,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,508,000 after buying an additional 5,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 730,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,875,000 after buying an additional 74,529 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 1.3%

AZN opened at $68.81 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $61.24 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.47. 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 stock has a market cap of $213.40 billion, a PE ratio of 30.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $13.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $88.00.

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.