Sectoral Asset Management Inc. Sells 3,518 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Sectoral Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 18.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,232 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,518 shares during the quarter. Astrazeneca makes up 2.1% of Sectoral Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Sectoral Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $2,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 344.6% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,478,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,841,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695,793 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 41.8% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807,565 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 11,190.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,806,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,790,874 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 64.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,783,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 4.7% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,503,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461,786 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZN opened at $187.24 on Monday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1-year low of $137.23 and a 1-year high of $212.71. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $191.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $183.08. The company has a market capitalization of $290.39 billion, a PE ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.26.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued 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 return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings began coverage on Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy (b)” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, April 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca 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.