Hemenway Trust Co LLC Invests $323,000 in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Hemenway Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $323,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 113.0% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 95,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,444,000 after purchasing an additional 50,750 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 163,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,979,000 after purchasing an additional 49,541 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 154,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,433,000 after purchasing an additional 15,642 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 281.2% during the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 2,779,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,180,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,064 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth $10,395,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AZN. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Argus lifted their price target on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.2 %

AZN traded up $0.19 on Thursday, hitting $77.94. The company had a trading volume of 3,168,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,425,856. The firm has a market cap of $241.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.21, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.45. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $80.86. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $78.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $12.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.42%. As a group, equities analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current 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.