Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Invests $15.41 Million in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Key Points

• Chesley Taft & Associates purchased 81,276 AstraZeneca shares in the second quarter, establishing a new stake valued at approximately $15.41 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 20.35% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with 12 Buy, two Hold and one Sell ratings; AstraZeneca has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $211 price target.
• AstraZeneca’s latest quarterly results beat earnings expectations, reporting $2.63 EPS versus the $2.50 consensus, while revenue rose 6.4% year over year to $15.38 billion. Shares opened at $161.28, well below the 52-week high of $212.71.

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 81,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,412,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,527 shares of the company's stock worth $3,076,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Visionary Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 4,197 shares of the company's stock valued at $737,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Vista Investment Management lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vista Investment Management now owns 21,215 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,723,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 3,391 shares of the company's stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the company's stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Astrazeneca from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Barclays reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, June 26th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Astrazeneca stock opened at $161.28 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $250.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50-day moving average of $176.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.11. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1 year low of $145.79 and a 1 year high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.17 EPS. Astrazeneca's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

About Astrazeneca

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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