Cullinan Associates Inc. Grows Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Cullinan Associates Inc. increased its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 13.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 13,026 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,498 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in AstraZeneca by 0.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 49,492,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,351,653,000 after purchasing an additional 358,399 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,782,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,342,367,000 after buying an additional 164,183 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,684,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $988,972,000 after acquiring an additional 4,122,965 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,424,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $708,617,000 after acquiring an additional 889,178 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in AstraZeneca by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,404,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,361,000 after acquiring an additional 233,015 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Argus raised their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN stock opened at $76.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $238.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.74, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.45. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $80.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $77.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.59.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.08. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The firm had revenue of $12.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company's marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.