Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Boosts Stake in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 134,308 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,779 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $10,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 111.6% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 66,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,113,000 after buying an additional 35,148 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 96.2% in the third quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 77,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,953,000 after purchasing an additional 38,043 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 191,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,156,000 after buying an additional 17,548 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 68.2% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,899,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,730,000 after buying an additional 770,417 shares during the period. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the third quarter worth about $14,884,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of AZN stock opened at $94.23 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $96.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $292.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.31, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $91.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.84. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 32.89%. The firm had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AZN. HSBC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.75.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led 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’s operations span research and development, large-scale manufacturing, and commercial distribution, with a presence in developed and emerging markets worldwide.

The company focuses on several core therapy areas including oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism (CVRM), respiratory and immunology, and rare diseases.