HB Wealth Management LLC Has $3.65 Million Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 72.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,558 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,908 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $3,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca by 93.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after buying an additional 11,690 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the first quarter worth $246,000. Integrity Alliance LLC. acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at $440,000. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 15.3% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 79,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,854,000 after acquiring an additional 10,573 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.7%

AZN opened at $94.65 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $90.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.90. The firm has a market cap of $293.55 billion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.34. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $61.24 and a twelve month high of $96.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.88.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $15.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.75 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 32.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AZN. Wall Street Zen raised AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. HSBC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.75.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led 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’s operations span research and development, large-scale manufacturing, and commercial distribution, with a presence in developed and emerging markets worldwide.

The company focuses on several core therapy areas including oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism (CVRM), respiratory and immunology, and rare diseases.