General Partner Inc. Makes New Investment in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

General Partner Inc. bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 237.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 123,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,331,000 after acquiring an additional 86,610 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.5% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 496,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,656,000 after acquiring an additional 2,426 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 31.0% in the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 5,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 6.8% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 75,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,102,000 after acquiring an additional 4,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 13.3% in the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 5,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:AZN traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $78.78. 948,027 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,693,585. The stock has a market capitalization of $244.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.48. 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 one year low of $60.47 and a one year high of $80.86. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.50.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $12.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. Sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AZN. Argus boosted their price target on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.00.

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.