West Family Investments Inc. Reduces Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

West Family Investments Inc. decreased its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 54.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,229 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,891 shares during the quarter. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 2.1% in 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 last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 445,014 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 6.7% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 16,422,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,114,088,000 after acquiring an additional 1,036,635 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,878,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,435,716,000 after purchasing an additional 432,939 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 889.9% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,949,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,319,947,000 after buying an additional 10,742,268 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on AZN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Sunday, August 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $198.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Astrazeneca from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, HSBC lowered Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.67.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:AZN opened at $160.05 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $248.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $168.06 and a 200-day moving average of $183.46. Astrazeneca Plc has a twelve month low of $145.79 and a twelve month high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.Astrazeneca’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Astrazeneca Profile

AstraZeneca plc is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines. Its principal therapeutic areas include oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases, respiratory and immunology conditions, and rare diseases.

The company’s portfolio includes medicines such as Tagrisso, Imfinzi and Lynparza for cancer; Farxiga for cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic conditions; Fasenra for severe asthma; and Symbicort for respiratory disease.