AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Holdings Boosted by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,430,963 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 466,416 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.50% of AstraZeneca worth $1,011,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AZN. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 38.8% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in AstraZeneca by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 8,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 23,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,537,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN opened at $70.76 on Monday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $67.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca 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.