Perigon Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,597 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 567 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. FMR LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,801,080,000 after buying an additional 258,477 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,715 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $816,509,000 after purchasing an additional 524,175 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew 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 purchasing an additional 1,605,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,705,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,806,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $71.24 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $66.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.99. The company has a market cap of $220.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.09, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca 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.