WCM Investment Management LLC Buys 10,677 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 0.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,663,759 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,677 shares during the quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $197,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.3% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 41,200,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,879,062,000 after purchasing an additional 538,606 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,298,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,488,332,000 after buying an additional 196,401 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,695,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,446,235,000 after buying an additional 530,520 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 12,167,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $850,255,000 after buying an additional 1,605,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,046,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,734,000 after buying an additional 104,625 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Monday, October 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $187.98 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.22 and a 200-day moving average of $85.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $583.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.34. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $61.24 and a twelve month high of $192.79.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 32.89%. The business had revenue of $15.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Profile

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca’s operations span research and development, large-scale manufacturing, and commercial distribution, with a presence in developed and emerging markets worldwide.

The company focuses on several core therapy areas including oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism (CVRM), respiratory and immunology, and rare diseases.