Groupe la Francaise purchased a new position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN – Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 984,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $190,802,000. Astrazeneca accounts for approximately 2.6% of Groupe la Francaise’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pursuit Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Astrazeneca during the fourth quarter worth about $636,000. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 83,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,680,000 after acquiring an additional 12,255 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,573,000 after acquiring an additional 6,769 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 335,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,832,000 after acquiring an additional 25,004 shares during the period. Finally, Cambiar Investors LLC increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC now owns 276,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,386,000 after purchasing an additional 5,326 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages recently issued reports on AZN. Wall Street Zen raised Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. DZ Bank raised Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. HSBC downgraded Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.00.
Astrazeneca Stock Performance
Astrazeneca stock opened at $171.50 on Friday. Astrazeneca Plc has a fifty-two week low of $145.79 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71. The company has a market capitalization of $265.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $179.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.89.
Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Astrazeneca Company Profile
AstraZeneca plc is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.
The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.
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