Bessemer Group Inc. Acquires 6,664 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 121,851 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,664 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $8,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 93.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 2,789 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 29,123 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,908,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 104.2% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 11,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $782,000 after buying an additional 6,091 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 5,995 shares of the company's stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Simmons Bank increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 39,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,605,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.3%

AZN stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $69.85. The company had a trading volume of 3,133,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,206,962. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.55 and a 200-day moving average of $70.46. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $61.24 and a one year high of $87.68. The stock has a market cap of $216.63 billion, a PE ratio of 28.05, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $13.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 33.14% and a net margin of 14.14%. The firm's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.06 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.