Blue Trust Inc. Has $1.82 Million Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 38.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,712 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,686 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 109.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company's stock valued at $238,397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605,758 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after buying an additional 1,522,715 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at about $72,437,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company's stock valued at $816,509,000 after buying an additional 524,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 63.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 871,893 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,929,000 after buying an additional 338,566 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN traded down $0.49 on Tuesday, reaching $69.59. 3,426,447 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,954,422. The company has a fifty day moving average of $66.58 and a 200-day moving average of $74.08. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The company has a market capitalization of $215.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.30, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.46. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The firm had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. The business's revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group upgraded shares of 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, five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus 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.