Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Has $245.41 Million Stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 17.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,745,531 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 564,297 shares during the quarter. AstraZeneca makes up about 2.8% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $245,407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 320.8% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 608 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 692 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock traded up $0.58 on Wednesday, hitting $70.17. The company had a trading volume of 577,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,696,262. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $66.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.02. The firm has a market cap of $217.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. AstraZeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.