Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Stock Bought by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 6.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 422,910 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,932 shares during the quarter. Astrazeneca makes up approximately 1.9% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $68,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, GK Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. Nordea Equity Research raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, CICC Research started coverage on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Sunday, August 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $198.00 price target on the stock. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.67.

Astrazeneca Trading Up 4.1%

Shares of Astrazeneca stock opened at $162.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $251.57 billion, a PE ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.27. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52 week low of $153.41 and a 52 week high of $212.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $161.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.13. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. Astrazeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.