MML Investors Services LLC Purchases 32,338 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 305,636 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,338 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $53,639,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,089,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,595,000 after buying an additional 181,273 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 42,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,298,000 after buying an additional 7,289 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in Astrazeneca by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 242,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,581,000 after purchasing an additional 15,065 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Astrazeneca by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 2,100,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,142,000 after purchasing an additional 262,465 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in Astrazeneca by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 79,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,136,000 after purchasing an additional 6,172 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, April 10th. DZ Bank raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:AZN opened at $177.36 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $188.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.10. The company has a market capitalization of $275.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1-year low of $137.23 and a 1-year high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. On average, equities analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 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.