Fisher Asset Management LLC Purchases 438,709 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 21,601,433 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 438,709 shares during the period. Astrazeneca comprises approximately 1.3% of Fisher Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $3,791,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in Astrazeneca in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 102.7% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Astrazeneca in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE AZN opened at $187.24 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $191.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $183.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52 week low of $137.23 and a 52 week high of $212.71. The company has a market capitalization of $290.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.26.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the topic of several recent research reports. DZ Bank raised Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Thursday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.33.

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.