Compound Planning Inc. Purchases 9,655 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Compound Planning Inc. increased its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 29.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 42,583 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,655 shares during the quarter. Compound Planning Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $7,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AZN. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 4.7% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,503,614,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461,786 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,791,051,000 after purchasing an additional 438,709 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,157,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,537,684,000 after purchasing an additional 445,014 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,878,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,435,716,000 after purchasing an additional 432,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,805,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,517,000 after purchasing an additional 582,183 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE AZN opened at $174.87 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $187.22 and its 200 day moving average is $186.24. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52 week low of $137.23 and a 52 week high of $212.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $271.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.25.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.