ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 74,529 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 730,700 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 74,529 shares during the quarter. AstraZeneca makes up approximately 2.0% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $47,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 109.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company's stock worth $238,397,000 after buying an additional 1,605,758 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company's stock worth $1,492,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,715 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 65.1% in the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company's stock worth $187,934,000 after purchasing an additional 950,000 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the third quarter valued at $72,437,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company's stock worth $816,509,000 after purchasing an additional 524,175 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded up $1.36 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,478,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,986,170. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $66.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $60.47 and a one year high of $87.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The business had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Profile

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company's marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.