Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Purchases New Shares in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 16,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,287,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 20.0% during the third quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,162 shares of the company's stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 9,329 shares of the company's stock worth $727,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,433 shares of the company's stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 887 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 7,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $570,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at $182,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.8 %

AZN traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $77.51. 2,475,607 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,159,282. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $81.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.68. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $240.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upgraded AstraZeneca to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays upgraded AstraZeneca to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of AstraZeneca from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AstraZeneca from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

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.