AstraZeneca PLC $AZN Shares Acquired by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 332,974 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,947 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $25,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 173.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 3,745,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376,032 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 14,797.3% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,322,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,306,000 after acquiring an additional 2,307,047 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 2,389.9% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,043,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,798,000 after acquiring an additional 1,961,764 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 12,167,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $850,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 64.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,783,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,662 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $90.54 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $61.24 and a 52 week high of $96.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $91.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $280.84 billion, a PE ratio of 30.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.34.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.75 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.89% and a net margin of 16.17%.AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered AstraZeneca from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, HSBC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.75.

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.