Howe & Rusling Inc. Makes New $10.49 Million Investment in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Howe & Rusling Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 53,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,488,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AZN opened at $194.96 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $302.36 billion, a PE ratio of 29.27, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.24. Astrazeneca Plc has a twelve month low of $137.23 and a twelve month high of $212.71. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $188.09.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Astrazeneca from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.33.

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.