AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Acquired by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 19.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,436 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,384 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,801,080,000 after acquiring an additional 258,477 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 5.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $816,509,000 after buying an additional 524,175 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,417,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,565,000 after acquiring an additional 488,644 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.8% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,403,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,458,000 after purchasing an additional 186,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 109.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,397,000 after acquiring an additional 1,605,758 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

AstraZeneca Price Performance

NASDAQ AZN opened at $68.58 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The company has a market cap of $212.64 billion, a PE ratio of 32.81, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $71.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.08.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. On average, analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.11 EPS for the current 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.