National Bank of Canada FI Has $392.43 Million Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 99.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,236,063 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,116,871 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $392,429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 552.9% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,547,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $973,603,000 after purchasing an additional 4,697,895 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 344.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,478,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,841,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695,793 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 65.3% in the 4th quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,154,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,080,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,431,890 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807,565 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 11,190.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,806,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,790,874 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $178.79 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $188.26 and its 200-day moving average is $186.16. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12 month low of $137.23 and a 12 month high of $212.71. The firm has a market cap of $277.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The company had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. Equities analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 1st. DZ Bank upgraded Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Company 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.