Columbus Macro LLC Sells 16,238 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Columbus Macro LLC decreased its stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 50.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,934 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,238 shares during the quarter. Columbus Macro LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $3,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,089,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,595,000 after purchasing an additional 181,273 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Astrazeneca by 6.6% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 242,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,581,000 after buying an additional 15,065 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 14.3% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 2,100,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,142,000 after buying an additional 262,465 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 31.0% in the third quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 83,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,373,000 after acquiring an additional 19,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Capital Group California Inc. bought a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the third quarter valued at approximately $406,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Astrazeneca from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve 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, Astrazeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Shares of Astrazeneca stock opened at $185.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $184.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.80. Astrazeneca Plc has a fifty-two week low of $137.23 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71. The firm has a market cap of $287.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.25.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%. Sell-side analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.