Bank of America Corp DE Trims Stock Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Bank of America Corp DE decreased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 27.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,058,327 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,298,024 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $3,758,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the third quarter valued at $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 102.7% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 304 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AZN. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Astrazeneca stock opened at $173.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $268.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $179.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.89. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52 week low of $145.79 and a 52 week high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.17 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.