Saturna Capital Corp Sells 813,636 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Saturna Capital Corp reduced its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 49.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 821,571 shares of the company’s stock after selling 813,636 shares during the period. Astrazeneca makes up approximately 2.3% of Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $161,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Boston Common Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Astrazeneca by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 83,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,669,000 after buying an additional 14,576 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 223.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 29,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,752,000 after purchasing an additional 20,635 shares in the last quarter. Pursuit Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter valued at about $636,000. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 83,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,680,000 after buying an additional 12,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter valued at about $925,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

NYSE AZN opened at $169.20 on Wednesday. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $138.84 and a one year high of $212.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $181.50 and a 200 day moving average of $188.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $262.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.41, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.24.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on AZN shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Barclays restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.00.

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.