AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,511 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,795 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $6,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Martin Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC now owns 284,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,571,000 after buying an additional 7,615 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 46.6% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 43,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,398,000 after buying an additional 13,860 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 224,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,510,000 after buying an additional 16,692 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter valued at about $269,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 124.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 98,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,657,000 after buying an additional 54,488 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.3 %

AZN stock opened at $63.39 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The company has a market capitalization of $196.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $74.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AZN. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

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.