Sei Investments Co. Trims Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Sei Investments Co. trimmed its stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 29.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 683,752 shares of the company’s stock after selling 282,483 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $134,845,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AZN. DZ Bank raised Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. HSBC cut Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, April 10th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZN opened at $168.41 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $180.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $188.05. The firm has a market cap of $261.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.29, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1-year low of $142.98 and a 1-year high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%. Research analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.