642,497 AstraZeneca Plc $AZN Shares Bought by M&G PLC

M&G PLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 14.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,125,209 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 642,497 shares during the period. AstraZeneca accounts for approximately 4.0% of M&G PLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. M&G PLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $801,675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 78.1% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 7,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,239,000 after buying an additional 3,357 shares during the period. Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new position in AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at about $317,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Uhlmann Price Securities LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC now owns 2,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:AZN opened at $189.18 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $293.40 billion, a PE ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. AstraZeneca Plc has a 12-month low of $153.41 and a 12-month high of $212.71.

AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $2.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 17.68% and a return on equity of 31.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.38 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. CICC Research assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Sunday, August 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $198.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings raised AstraZeneca from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Zacks Research upgraded AstraZeneca from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Nordea Equity Research upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.67.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca plc is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The company discovers, develops and commercializes prescription medicines, with a focus on oncology, biopharmaceuticals and rare diseases. Its research and commercial operations serve patients and healthcare systems across more than 100 countries.

AstraZeneca’s portfolio includes medicines for cancer, respiratory and immune-mediated conditions, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases, and rare disorders.