Sanders Capital LLC Acquires 29,149 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 0.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,974,391 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 29,149 shares during the period. AstraZeneca accounts for about 1.7% of Sanders Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Sanders Capital LLC owned approximately 0.48% of AstraZeneca worth $1,166,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the first quarter valued at approximately $186,127,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter valued at $188,476,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in AstraZeneca by 109.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,397,000 after buying an additional 1,605,758 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 750.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,283,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,523,000 after buying an additional 1,132,362 shares during the period. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,934,000 after buying an additional 950,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $66.71 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.72.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company’s marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.