D.B. Root & Company LLC Increases Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

D.B. Root & Company LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,535 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,616 shares during the quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Crumly & Associates Inc. grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 6,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Veery Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Veery Capital LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 8,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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 research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $68.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $211.49 billion, a PE ratio of 32.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.46. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.28.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.