Palladiem LLC Invests $495,000 in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Palladiem LLC bought a new position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,000. Astrazeneca makes up about 0.5% of Palladiem LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 102.7% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 304 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 3,350.0% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 345 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

AZN stock opened at $186.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12 month low of $137.23 and a 12 month high of $212.71. The firm has a market cap of $288.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $190.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.12.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its 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. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings began coverage on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy (b)” rating for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.33.

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.