Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Sells 3,007 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 111,343 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,007 shares during the quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $19,541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 3,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $609,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings started coverage on Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy (b)” rating for the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, April 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $177.34 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $191.20 and a 200-day moving average of $184.28. The company has a market cap of $275.04 billion, a PE ratio of 26.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.25. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $137.23 and a one year high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.