West Family Investments Inc. Decreases Stake in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

West Family Investments Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 54.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,229 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,891 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Amundi grew its position in Astrazeneca by 146,574.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 15,386,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,034,456,000 after acquiring an additional 15,375,659 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 889.9% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,949,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,319,947,000 after purchasing an additional 10,742,268 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 106,772.0% during the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 8,054,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,560,419,000 after acquiring an additional 8,047,406 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 208.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,386,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,048,417,000 after purchasing an additional 7,021,126 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank purchased a new position in Astrazeneca in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,202,714,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

NYSE AZN opened at $160.05 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $168.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.46. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12-month low of $145.79 and a 12-month high of $212.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $248.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.Astrazeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.19 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the subject of several recent research reports. HSBC cut Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, June 26th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Astrazeneca has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.67.

Astrazeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca plc is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines. Its principal therapeutic areas include oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases, respiratory and immunology conditions, and rare diseases.

The company’s portfolio includes medicines such as Tagrisso, Imfinzi and Lynparza for cancer; Farxiga for cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic conditions; Fasenra for severe asthma; and Symbicort for respiratory disease.