Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Holdings Boosted by Professional Advisory Services Inc.

Professional Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 12.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 181,963 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 20,339 shares during the quarter. Astrazeneca comprises 3.5% of Professional Advisory Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Professional Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $29,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amundi grew its holdings in Astrazeneca by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 16,422,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,114,088,000 after buying an additional 1,036,635 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 889.9% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,949,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,319,947,000 after acquiring an additional 10,742,268 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Astrazeneca by 208.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,386,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,048,417,000 after acquiring an additional 7,021,126 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC increased its holdings in Astrazeneca by 106,772.0% in the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 8,054,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,419,000 after acquiring an additional 8,047,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 546.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,667,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,315,026,000 after purchasing an additional 5,635,812 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Astrazeneca from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.67.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:AZN traded down $1.37 during trading on Thursday, hitting $158.75. The company had a trading volume of 3,488,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,799,994. The stock has a market cap of $246.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.19. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $153.41 and a one year high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.Astrazeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Astrazeneca Profile

AstraZeneca PLC is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Its research, development and commercial operations focus on prescription medicines for serious and chronic diseases, with an emphasis on discovering and delivering innovative therapies rather than operating as a diversified healthcare conglomerate.

The company’s principal therapeutic areas include oncology; cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases; respiratory and immunological conditions; and rare diseases.