Davidson Investment Advisors Trims Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Davidson Investment Advisors lowered its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 5.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,676 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,665 shares during the quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors’ holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $20,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Astrazeneca by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,791,051,000 after acquiring an additional 438,709 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,157,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,537,684,000 after purchasing an additional 445,014 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 146,574.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 15,386,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,034,456,000 after purchasing an additional 15,375,659 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,878,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,435,716,000 after purchasing an additional 432,939 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 889.9% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,949,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,319,947,000 after purchasing an additional 10,742,268 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $162.83 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $171.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.73. The stock has a market cap of $252.53 billion, a PE ratio of 24.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.26. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1 year low of $145.79 and a 1 year high of $212.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its 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. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. Astrazeneca’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. HSBC downgraded Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, June 26th. Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.67.

About Astrazeneca

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.