Rathbones Group PLC Sells 4,200 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Rathbones Group PLC trimmed its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 35.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,537 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,200 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $1,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Luken Investment Analytics LLC boosted its position in Astrazeneca by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC now owns 5,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $936,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. DZ Bank raised Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays raised Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Shares of Astrazeneca stock opened at $187.24 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $290.39 billion, a PE ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.26. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12 month low of $137.23 and a 12 month high of $212.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.86.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. 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, research analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.25 EPS for the current 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.