Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Buys 18,964 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 93.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,329 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,964 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $6,902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the fourth quarter worth $409,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 33,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,890,000 after acquiring an additional 4,445 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 11,190.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,806,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,790,874 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $507,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 125,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,033,000 after acquiring an additional 18,625 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on AZN shares. Weiss Ratings started coverage on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy (b)” rating for the company. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

AZN stock opened at $187.50 on Thursday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52 week low of $137.23 and a 52 week high of $212.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $290.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.26.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. Analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Astrazeneca

AstraZeneca plc is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.