Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Increases Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 552.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,547,597 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,697,895 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned about 0.36% of Astrazeneca worth $973,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 162.1% in the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 270 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 102.7% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 304 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of AZN stock opened at $178.79 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $189.26 and a 200 day moving average of $185.98. 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 cap of $277.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.25. Astrazeneca Plc has a twelve month low of $137.23 and a twelve month high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AZN shares. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. DZ Bank upgraded Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.