AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Stock Holdings Decreased by Chesley Taft & Associates LLC

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lessened its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 79.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,125 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AZN. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 109.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,397,000 after buying an additional 1,605,758 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,492,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,715 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 65.1% in the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,934,000 after purchasing an additional 950,000 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the third quarter worth $72,437,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $816,509,000 after purchasing an additional 524,175 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $67.96 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $66.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.52, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The firm had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.12 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.