Ballentine Partners LLC Purchases 4,173 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 13.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,695 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,173 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $2,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 447.4% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 416 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price objective on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ AZN traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $71.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,729,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,279,228. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $61.24 and a 12 month high of $87.68. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $70.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.81. The company has a market cap of $220.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $13.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 33.14% and a net margin of 14.14%. AstraZeneca's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.06 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.