SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. Purchases Shares of 25,037 Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 25,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,394,000. Astrazeneca comprises 0.2% of SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Astrazeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bangor Savings Bank increased its position in Astrazeneca by 102.7% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 3,350.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 345 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

AZN stock opened at $185.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $137.23 and a one year high of $212.71. The stock has a market cap of $287.94 billion, a PE ratio of 27.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.26. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.64.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. The business had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. On average, analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings initiated coverage on Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy (b)” rating for the company. DZ Bank raised Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Profile

AstraZeneca plc is a global 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 positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.