Capital World Investors Sells 179,541 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Capital World Investors cut its stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 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 quarter. Capital World Investors’ holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $160,421,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 344.6% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,478,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,841,000 after buying an additional 2,695,793 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in Astrazeneca by 41.8% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807,565 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in Astrazeneca by 11,190.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,806,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,790,874 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in Astrazeneca by 64.8% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,783,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Astrazeneca by 4.7% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,503,614,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461,786 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

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. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1 year low of $137.23 and a 1 year high of $212.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $190.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.53. The stock 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 (NYSE:AZN) last issued its 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. 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, research analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.33.

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.