Lazard Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Key Points

• Lazard Asset Management increased its AstraZeneca stake by 65.8% in the first quarter, adding 879,671 shares to reach 2.22 million shares valued at approximately $432.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 20.35% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with 13 Buy ratings, one Hold and one Sell; AstraZeneca has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $211 target price.
• AstraZeneca reported quarterly EPS of $2.63, exceeding estimates of $2.10, while revenue of $15.38 billion came slightly below the $15.44 billion consensus forecast.

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 65.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,216,887 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 879,671 shares during the quarter. Astrazeneca accounts for 0.7% of Lazard Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.14% of Astrazeneca worth $432,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Swiss National Bank bought a new stake in Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,202,714,000. SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the 1st quarter valued at $1,157,593,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Astrazeneca by 546.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,667,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,315,026,000 after purchasing an additional 5,635,812 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 552.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,547,597 shares of the company's stock valued at $973,603,000 after buying an additional 4,697,895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 4,529.1% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,783,927 shares of the company's stock worth $747,099,000 after buying an additional 3,702,185 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AZN shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Astrazeneca from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Bank of America restated 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 report on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $168.68 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $261.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.24. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12-month low of $142.98 and a 12-month high of $212.71. The business's 50 day moving average is $180.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. Analysts expect 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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