Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 4,117 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 87.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,840 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,117 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Martin Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.8% in the third quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC now owns 284,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,571,000 after purchasing an additional 7,615 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $754,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 46.6% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 43,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,398,000 after buying an additional 13,860 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 224,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,510,000 after acquiring an additional 16,692 shares during the period. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC now owns 2,652,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,677,000 after acquiring an additional 201,233 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of AZN opened at $68.20 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.63, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $66.20 and a 200-day moving average of $74.32.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

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.