Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Sold by Westerkirk Capital Inc.

Westerkirk Capital Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 53.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,465 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,345 shares during the period. Westerkirk Capital Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $959,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of America Corp DE lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,461,786 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Astrazeneca by 2.1% during the fourth 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 period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Astrazeneca by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,157,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,537,684,000 after purchasing an additional 445,014 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Astrazeneca by 9.4% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,805,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,517,000 after purchasing an additional 582,183 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position 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 during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 2.2%

AZN opened at $181.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $281.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $190.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91. Astrazeneca Plc has a fifty-two week low of $137.23 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. On average, research analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Astrazeneca Company 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.