Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Grows Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 17.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,745,531 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 564,297 shares during the period. AstraZeneca comprises 2.8% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC owned about 0.12% of AstraZeneca worth $245,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 6,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Veery Capital LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Veery Capital LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the 3rd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AZN. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZN traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $70.17. The stock had a trading volume of 577,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,696,262. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.02. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The stock has a market cap of $217.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.12 EPS 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.