Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. Takes Position in AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. acquired a new position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 760,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,139,000. AstraZeneca accounts for 2.5% of Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 149.3% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 297.9% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 386 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 59.8% during the 2nd 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 purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Maseco LLP bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.6%

AZN opened at $89.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $276.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $82.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.86. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $89.43.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.05. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.84% and a net margin of 14.68%.The business had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.