World Investment Advisors Acquires 14,127 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 108.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,098 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,127 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $4,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 552.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,547,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,603,000 after purchasing an additional 4,697,895 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 344.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,478,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,841,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695,793 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 65.3% in the 4th quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,154,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,080,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,431,890 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,232,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 11,190.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,806,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,790,874 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

NYSE AZN opened at $181.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $281.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.29, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.25. Astrazeneca Plc has a twelve month low of $137.23 and a twelve month high of $212.71. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.71. 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 (NYSE:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%. Sell-side analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

About Astrazeneca

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.