Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $90.14 Million Position in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,174,861 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,184 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $90,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 93.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 45.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 11,690 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its position in AstraZeneca by 82.5% during the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 7,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 3,171 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.5% in the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 7,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.0% in the second quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 5,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AZN. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 102.6%

AZN opened at $187.98 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $94.22 and a 200-day moving average of $85.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $583.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $61.24 and a 1-year high of $192.79.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.05. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 32.89%. The business had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Profile

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.