Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $5.07 Million Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 23.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 77,312 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 14,711 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $5,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 320.8% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 22.9% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 543,398 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 101,225 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2,618.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 734 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock traded up $1.23 during trading on Thursday, reaching $66.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,942,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,892,312. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $60.47 and a one year high of $87.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $66.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.46.

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. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. AstraZeneca's quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Company 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.