Professional Advisory Services Inc. Raises Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Professional Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 20.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 332,945 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,417 shares during the period. AstraZeneca makes up approximately 3.0% of Professional Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Professional Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $21,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 62.4% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,131,000 after buying an additional 10,500 shares during the last quarter. Argent Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 7,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the second quarter valued at $1,075,000. Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 32.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 37,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,906,000 after buying an additional 9,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Callan Capital LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 103.9% during the 2nd quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 10,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $808,000 after acquiring an additional 5,277 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.5 %

AstraZeneca stock opened at $66.60 on Friday. 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 PLC has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $66.06 and a 200 day moving average of $74.57.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The business had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

About AstraZeneca

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.