Brookmont Capital Management Buys 19,827 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Brookmont Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 54.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 55,985 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,827 shares during the period. AstraZeneca makes up about 2.0% of Brookmont Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Brookmont Capital Management’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $3,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 109.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,397,000 after acquiring an additional 1,605,758 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,492,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522,715 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,934,000 after acquiring an additional 950,000 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter worth about $72,437,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.3% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.5 %

AZN opened at $66.60 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $206.53 billion, a PE ratio of 31.87, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca 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.