Swedbank AB Purchases 125,600 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Swedbank AB boosted its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,831,357 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 125,600 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.09% of AstraZeneca worth $185,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Iams Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 72.4% in the fourth quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,774,000 after purchasing an additional 11,369 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 45,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,996,000 after acquiring an additional 1,212 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at $111,000. Orca Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,532,000. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,311,000 after buying an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN traded up $0.69 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $70.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 488,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,696,262. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $217.95 billion, a PE ratio of 33.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $60.47 and a one year high of $87.68. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.02.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.