Main Street Research LLC Invests $65.15 Million in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Main Street Research LLC bought a new position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 371,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,149,000. Astrazeneca comprises about 3.7% of Main Street Research LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,503,614,000 after buying an additional 1,461,786 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,162,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,623,604,000 after buying an additional 466,745 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,805,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,517,000 after buying an additional 582,183 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,232,000 after buying an additional 1,807,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,707,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $438,342,000 after buying an additional 660,569 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AZN shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Barclays upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, April 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZN opened at $187.24 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $290.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.26. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12 month low of $137.23 and a 12 month high of $212.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $191.66 and its 200 day moving average is $183.08. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. Research analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.62 EPS for the current year.

Astrazeneca 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.