Capital World Investors Reduces Stock Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Capital World Investors lowered its position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 16.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 914,079 shares of the company’s stock after selling 179,541 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned about 0.06% of Astrazeneca worth $160,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Astrazeneca by 344.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,478,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,841,000 after buying an additional 2,695,793 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807,565 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 11,190.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,806,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,790,874 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 64.8% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,783,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 4.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,461,786 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Thursday, May 21st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, May 4th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of Astrazeneca stock opened at $181.81 on Tuesday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $190.70 and a 200 day moving average of $185.53. The firm has a market cap of $281.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.25. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1 year low of $137.23 and a 1 year high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.52 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.