William Blair Investment Management LLC Boosts Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,642 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,888 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $5,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,782,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,342,367,000 after buying an additional 164,183 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,684,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $988,972,000 after purchasing an additional 4,122,965 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,424,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $708,617,000 after purchasing an additional 889,178 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,404,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,361,000 after purchasing an additional 233,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 7,729,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $520,604,000 after purchasing an additional 333,310 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 1.5 %

AZN stock traded up $1.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $79.76. The company had a trading volume of 3,360,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,353,575. 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 PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $80.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $78.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.38. The stock has a market cap of $247.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.52, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.45.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.08. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. The firm had revenue of $12.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Argus boosted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays raised AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.00.

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.