Cerity Partners LLC Has $100.63 Million Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 573,405 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 33,802 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $100,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 93.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 2,789 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after buying an additional 11,690 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 54.4% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 10,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 3,618 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 898.4% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,339,000 after buying an additional 30,125 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,259,000 after buying an additional 559 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Barclays reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Astrazeneca presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

AZN stock opened at $183.36 on Wednesday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1-year low of $137.23 and a 1-year high of $212.71. The firm has a market cap of $284.38 billion, a PE ratio of 27.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $190.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $185.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The business had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Astrazeneca Company 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.