AstraZeneca PLC $AZN Shares Sold by SFE Investment Counsel

SFE Investment Counsel trimmed its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 14.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,085 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,036 shares during the quarter. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 1.2% during the second quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 21,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,506,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC now owns 322,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,504,000 after buying an additional 11,035 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 2,389.9% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,043,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,798,000 after acquiring an additional 1,961,764 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 5.2% in the second quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 45,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,182,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in AstraZeneca by 8.8% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 49,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,968 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $84.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.86. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $86.57. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.55. The company has a market capitalization of $262.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.34.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.84% and a net margin of 14.68%.The firm had revenue of $15.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Monday, October 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company’s marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.