Assetmark Inc. Buys 15,642 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 154,906 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,642 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $10,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. STF Management LP boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. STF Management LP now owns 9,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $661,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 31,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 6,279 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 118.9% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,592,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951,591 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in AstraZeneca by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,045,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,107,000 after purchasing an additional 204,804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balentine LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 177.0% in the 4th quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 13,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $909,000 after buying an additional 8,621 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $78.80 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $244.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.47. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $79.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $71.33 and a 200-day moving average of $67.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $12.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.42%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

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.