Madison Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 21,310 Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 21,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,041,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Astrazeneca in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Astrazeneca in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “sell” 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 research note on Tuesday, July 28th. HSBC lowered shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of AZN opened at $164.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $255.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.26. Astrazeneca Plc has a twelve month low of $145.79 and a twelve month high of $212.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.58.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.13. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 31.45%. The firm 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 company earned $2.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.21 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.