iA Global Asset Management Inc. Buys 84,036 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 146.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 141,239 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 84,036 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $11,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,801,080,000 after acquiring an additional 258,477 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 5.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $816,509,000 after purchasing an additional 524,175 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 16.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,417,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,565,000 after purchasing an additional 488,644 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 5.8% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,403,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,458,000 after purchasing an additional 186,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 109.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,397,000 after buying an additional 1,605,758 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of AZN opened at $68.20 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $71.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.45. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Erste Group Bank raised AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

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.