AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Bought by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 5.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,017 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in AstraZeneca by 34.7% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 21,807,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,742,000 after buying an additional 5,617,054 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 21,545,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,495,465,000 after purchasing an additional 4,348,916 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 272.7% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,572,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,415,000 after purchasing an additional 4,077,583 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth $254,290,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 407.1% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,093,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,553,000 after purchasing an additional 3,286,137 shares in the last quarter. 15.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $63.79 on Tuesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $61.73 and a 52 week high of $76.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.74 billion, a PE ratio of 33.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.51.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 8th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 30.30%. The firm had revenue of $11.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AZN. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 25th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Friday, September 8th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.00.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, andcommercialization of prescription medicines. The company's marketed products include Calquence, Enhertu, Faslodex, Imfinzi, Iressa, Koselugo, Lumoxiti, Lynparza, Orpathys, Tagrisso, and Zoladex for oncology; Andexxa/Ondexxya, Atacand, Atacand HCT, Atacand Plus, Brilinta/Brilique, Bydureon/Byetta, BCise, Byetta, Crestor, Evrenzo, Farxiga/Forxiga, Komboglyze/Kombiglyze XR, Lokelma, Onglyza, Qtern, Xigduo/Xigduo, and Zestril XR for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolism diseases; Accolate, Accoleit, Vanticon, Bevespi Aerosphere, Breztri Aerosphere, Bricanyl Respules and Turbuhaler, Daliresp/Daxas, Duaklir Genuair, Fasenra, Pulmicort, Rhinocort, Saphnelo, Symbicort, and Tezspire for respiratory and immunology; and Kanuma, Soliris, Strensiq, and Ultomiris for rare diseases.