AstraZeneca PLC $AZN Shares Purchased by Fiera Capital Corp

Fiera Capital Corp raised its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,589 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the quarter. Fiera Capital Corp’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AZN. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 149.3% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 297.9% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 386 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in AstraZeneca by 59.8% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $89.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $276.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.34. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $89.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $82.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.20.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 32.84%. The company had revenue of $15.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on AZN shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.00.

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.