FCA Corp TX Sells 3,750 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

FCA Corp TX cut its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 50.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,750 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,750 shares during the period. FCA Corp TX’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Swiss National Bank bought a new stake in Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter worth $1,202,714,000. SEB Asset Management AB bought a new position in Astrazeneca in the first quarter valued at about $1,157,593,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Astrazeneca by 546.1% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,667,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,315,026,000 after purchasing an additional 5,635,812 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 4,697,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 4,529.1% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,783,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $747,099,000 after purchasing an additional 3,702,185 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 0.8%

Astrazeneca stock opened at $168.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $261.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.24. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52-week low of $142.98 and a 52-week high of $212.71. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $180.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.05.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. Equities analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AZN. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.00.

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.