Madison Asset Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 21,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,041,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Astrazeneca in the second quarter worth about $5,901,000. S&CO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the second quarter valued at approximately $7,101,000. Ballast Inc. purchased a new position in Astrazeneca in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $270,000. Investors Research Corp purchased a new position in Astrazeneca in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $122,000. Finally, Spinnaker Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Astrazeneca by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $164.81 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.58. The firm has a market cap of $255.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1-year low of $145.79 and a 1-year high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.17 earnings per share. Astrazeneca’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.21 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, June 26th. HSBC downgraded Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.00.

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.