RFG Advisory LLC Cuts Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

RFG Advisory LLC lowered its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 78.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,224 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,482 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,503,614,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461,786 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,791,051,000 after purchasing an additional 438,709 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,157,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,537,684,000 after purchasing an additional 445,014 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,878,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,435,716,000 after purchasing an additional 432,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Astrazeneca by 9.4% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,805,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,517,000 after purchasing an additional 582,183 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AZN. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 1st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Astrazeneca stock opened at $190.93 on Tuesday. Astrazeneca Plc has a fifty-two week low of $137.23 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71. The company has a market capitalization of $296.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.67, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $184.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. The business 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.