Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Sold by First American Bank

First American Bank cut its stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 47.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,009 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,773 shares during the period. First American Bank’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $2,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Astrazeneca by 552.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,547,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,603,000 after purchasing an additional 4,697,895 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 344.6% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,478,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,841,000 after buying an additional 2,695,793 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 65.3% during the fourth quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,154,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,080,160,000 after buying an additional 2,431,890 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 41.8% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,232,000 after buying an additional 1,807,565 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 11,190.9% during 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 buying an additional 1,790,874 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZN opened at $182.98 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $185.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $283.78 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.25. Astrazeneca Plc has a fifty-two week low of $137.23 and a fifty-two 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.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion during 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AZN. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.33.

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.