Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV Has $1.47 Million Stock Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV lowered its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 48.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,467 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,123 shares during the period. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $1,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 4.7% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,503,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461,786 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $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 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,157,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,537,684,000 after buying an additional 445,014 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,878,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,435,716,000 after buying an additional 432,939 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 65.3% in the fourth quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,154,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,080,160,000 after buying an additional 2,431,890 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $194.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $302.36 billion, a PE ratio of 29.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $183.96 and a 200-day moving average of $187.95. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $137.23 and a one year high of $212.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. The company had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday. Finally, DZ Bank raised Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.33.

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.