Voya Investment Management LLC Buys 770,417 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 68.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,899,502 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 770,417 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $145,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 173.4% in the second quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 3,745,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376,032 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 14,797.3% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,322,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,306,000 after buying an additional 2,307,047 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 2,389.9% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,043,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,798,000 after buying an additional 1,961,764 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 12,167,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $850,255,000 after buying an additional 1,605,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 64.8% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,783,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487,662 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.8%

AZN stock opened at $90.61 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $87.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.65. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $94.01. The firm has a market cap of $281.02 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.88.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.05. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 32.89%. The company had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AZN shares. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.75.

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.