AstraZeneca Plc $AZN Shares Purchased by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 51,760 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,043 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $8,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Amundi lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 16,422,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,114,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036,635 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 889.9% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,949,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,319,947,000 after acquiring an additional 10,742,268 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 208.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,386,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,048,417,000 after acquiring an additional 7,021,126 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 106,772.0% during the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 8,054,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,419,000 after acquiring an additional 8,047,406 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.5% in the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 6,690,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,252,044,000 after purchasing an additional 160,339 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZN opened at $186.74 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $167.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $289.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.24. AstraZeneca Plc has a 1-year low of $153.41 and a 1-year high of $212.71.

AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $2.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.19. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 31.85% and a net margin of 17.68%. The business had revenue of $16.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that AstraZeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AZN. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. CICC Research assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Sunday, August 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $198.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.67.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca plc is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The company discovers, develops and commercializes prescription medicines, with a focus on oncology, biopharmaceuticals and rare diseases. Its research and commercial operations serve patients and healthcare systems across more than 100 countries. AstraZeneca’s portfolio includes medicines for cancer, respiratory and immune-mediated conditions, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases, and rare disorders.