Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Sold by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lessened its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 827,094 shares of the company’s stock after selling 213,033 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Astrazeneca worth $145,155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 552.9% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,547,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,603,000 after acquiring an additional 4,697,895 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 344.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,478,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,841,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695,793 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 65.3% in the 4th quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,154,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,080,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,431,890 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,232,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807,565 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 11,190.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,806,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,790,874 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE AZN opened at $178.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52 week low of $137.23 and a 52 week high of $212.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $189.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $277.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.25.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.33.

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.