Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH Boosts Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,874 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $713,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,507,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,457,706,000 after acquiring an additional 686,008 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 189.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,026,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,574,247,000 after acquiring an additional 15,722,197 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,480,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,276,367,000 after acquiring an additional 357,894 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,430,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,011,037,000 after acquiring an additional 466,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 15,186,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $995,032,000 after acquiring an additional 212,301 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN stock opened at $70.38 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $61.24 and a one year high of $87.68. The stock has a market cap of $218.27 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.58.

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