Natural Investments LLC Purchases New Stake in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Natural Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 13,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,533,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. IHT Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,076,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors increased its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 4,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $737,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Vista Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vista Investment Management now owns 21,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,723,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 3,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC lifted its position in Astrazeneca by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE AZN opened at $162.43 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $170.58 and its 200-day moving average is $184.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $251.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.25. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $145.79 and a one year high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 31.45%. 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 prior year, the business earned $2.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.19 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.67.

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.