First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Purchases 798 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,949 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in AstraZeneca by 113.0% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 95,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,444,000 after acquiring an additional 50,750 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 163,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,979,000 after acquiring an additional 49,541 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 154,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,433,000 after purchasing an additional 15,642 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 281.2% during the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 2,779,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,180,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,064 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter worth $10,395,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.2 %

AstraZeneca stock opened at $76.80 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $60.47 and a one year high of $80.86. The stock has a market cap of $238.12 billion, a PE ratio of 37.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $77.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $12.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.42%. On average, research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus raised their price target on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.00.

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.