10,918 Shares in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Purchased by Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC

Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 10,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,153,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Astrazeneca by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,791,051,000 after buying an additional 438,709 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,157,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,537,684,000 after buying an additional 445,014 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,878,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,435,716,000 after buying an additional 432,939 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 546.1% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,667,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,315,026,000 after buying an additional 5,635,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 65.3% during the fourth quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,154,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,080,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,431,890 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on AZN. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Astrazeneca from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of AZN stock opened at $168.81 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $261.82 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.24. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1 year low of $137.23 and a 1 year high of $212.71. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $182.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $188.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%. Research analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Astrazeneca Profile

AstraZeneca plc is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.