Bessemer Group Inc. Acquires 4,850 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,095 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,850 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $8,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 111.6% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 66,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,113,000 after purchasing an additional 35,148 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 96.2% in the third quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 77,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,953,000 after purchasing an additional 38,043 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 10.1% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 191,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,156,000 after purchasing an additional 17,548 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 61.1% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 316,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,299,000 after buying an additional 120,064 shares during the period. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 68.2% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,899,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,730,000 after buying an additional 770,417 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Monday, October 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 3.3%

NASDAQ AZN opened at $193.40 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $122.48 and a one year high of $193.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $299.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.41.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.75 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 32.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led 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’s operations span research and development, large-scale manufacturing, and commercial distribution, with a presence in developed and emerging markets worldwide.

The company focuses on several core therapy areas including oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism (CVRM), respiratory and immunology, and rare diseases.