Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 747,560 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,254 shares during the quarter. Astrazeneca accounts for 6.1% of Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $131,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 162.1% during the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 102.7% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of AZN opened at $182.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $283.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.40, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $137.23 and a one year high of $212.71. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.85.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. The business 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, DZ Bank raised Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca 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.