Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $60.19 Million Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 20.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 918,666 shares of the company's stock after selling 242,203 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $60,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 189.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,026,966 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,574,247,000 after acquiring an additional 15,722,197 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth $254,018,000. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 9,985.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,707,479 shares of the company's stock valued at $243,444,000 after buying an additional 3,670,719 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $158,018,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 220.8% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 3,027,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $198,363,000 after purchasing an additional 2,083,645 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the subject of several research reports. BNP Paribas began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN traded up $0.85 on Friday, reaching $68.81. The company had a trading volume of 3,742,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,167,268. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $213.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40. The company's fifty day moving average is $70.57 and its 200 day moving average is $69.52.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $13.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. The business's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.06 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca 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.