Fayez Sarofim & Co Increases Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 173.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,745,902 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,376,032 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $261,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth $3,066,000. Robbins Farley acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the second quarter valued at about $1,857,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 6.0% during the second quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 78,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,472,000 after buying an additional 4,449 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 15.2% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 12,167,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $850,255,000 after buying an additional 1,605,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alhambra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the second quarter worth about $320,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Monday, October 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.67.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $91.28 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $86.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.67. The company has a market capitalization of $283.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.33, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.31. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $94.01.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.75 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.89% and a net margin of 16.17%.The business’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Company 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.