Vontobel Holding Ltd. Takes Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 9,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $727,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,507,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,457,706,000 after acquiring an additional 686,008 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 189.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,026,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,574,247,000 after acquiring an additional 15,722,197 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,480,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,276,367,000 after acquiring an additional 357,894 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 15,186,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $995,032,000 after acquiring an additional 212,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,322,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,730,000 after acquiring an additional 636,537 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 2.2%

NASDAQ AZN opened at $69.60 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.85 billion, a PE ratio of 27.95, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.37. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $61.24 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The business’s 50-day moving average is $70.78 and its 200 day moving average is $70.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.14. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 33.14%. The business had revenue of $13.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.06 earnings per share. AstraZeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current 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.