Cerity Partners LLC Has $15.54 Million Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 199,425 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,575 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $15,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Martin Investment Management LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 2.8% during the third quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC now owns 284,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,571,000 after buying an additional 7,615 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 46.6% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 43,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,398,000 after acquiring an additional 13,860 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 224,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,510,000 after acquiring an additional 16,692 shares in the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $269,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 124.5% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 98,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,657,000 after purchasing an additional 54,488 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of AZN opened at $66.40 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $73.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.47. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The business had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

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.