Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 96.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 44,455 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,328,350 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $3,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter valued at $186,127,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the second quarter valued at about $188,476,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 750.3% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,283,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132,362 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 65.1% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 63.5% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,303,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,665,000 after purchasing an additional 506,465 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $66.40 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $73.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.93. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.47.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The firm had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. AstraZeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

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.