Sanders Capital LLC Has $1.17 Billion Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,974,391 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,149 shares during the period. AstraZeneca comprises approximately 1.7% of Sanders Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Sanders Capital LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,166,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Avestar Capital LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 12,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,010,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the third quarter worth $6,060,000. Prospector Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.3% in the third quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 7,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,801,080,000 after purchasing an additional 258,477 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,605,758 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of AZN stock opened at $66.71 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two 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 50 day simple moving average of $73.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.72. The company has a market cap of $206.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.77, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.47.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced 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. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.