Venturi Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Venturi Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 48.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,750 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,648 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $2,908,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 552.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,547,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $973,603,000 after acquiring an additional 4,697,895 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,695,793 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,431,890 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in Astrazeneca by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 11,190.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,806,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,790,874 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

NYSE:AZN opened at $188.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $184.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $186.93. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1-year low of $137.23 and a 1-year high of $212.71. The firm has a market cap of $292.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.25.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings cut Astrazeneca from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average 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.