iA Global Asset Management Inc. Increases Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 118,585 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,396 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $20,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. May Hill Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 144.0% in the 4th quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 23,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,207,000 after purchasing an additional 14,147 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 24,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,239,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter worth $416,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 225.4% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 271,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,623,000 after purchasing an additional 187,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 93.1% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 39,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,902,000 after purchasing an additional 18,964 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup began coverage on Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

NYSE AZN opened at $181.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $281.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.27, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.26. Astrazeneca Plc has a twelve month low of $136.16 and a twelve month high of $212.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $192.38 and a 200 day moving average of $182.04.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The company had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Astrazeneca Company 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.