Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Sells 6,190 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 51.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,837 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,190 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $1,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,503,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461,786 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Astrazeneca by 2.3% in the 4th 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 period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Astrazeneca by 3.2% in the 4th 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 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 worth $1,080,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,431,890 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Astrazeneca News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Astrazeneca this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AstraZeneca struck an exclusive global license deal for the lung-cancer drug Zegfrovy, a move that could strengthen its oncology pipeline and long-term growth prospects. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Buy rating ahead of second-quarter results, saying AstraZeneca should deliver solid earnings and revenue. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts from both the U.S. and U.K. cited a mixed setup, with some optimism on near-term results but limited scope for AstraZeneca to raise full-year guidance. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC downgraded AstraZeneca to Hold and cut its price target after the Wainua Phase 3 failure, saying the setback weakens the stock’s bull case. Article Title

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $169.79 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.67. 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 market capitalization of $263.32 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.24. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $137.23 and a one year high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. DZ Bank upgraded Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.00.

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.