Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Purchased by Capital Wealth Planning LLC

Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 97.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 206,389 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 101,747 shares during the quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $36,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hamel Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,378,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 21,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,704,000 after buying an additional 1,511 shares in the last quarter. Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter worth approximately $483,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 22,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,923,000 after buying an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,827,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:AZN opened at $178.87 on Thursday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52 week low of $137.23 and a 52 week high of $212.71. The company’s 50 day moving average is $190.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.76. 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 company has a market cap of $277.42 billion, a PE ratio of 26.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.25.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. The company had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. Equities analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AZN shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently 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.