Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Sells 390,342 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 18.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,762,193 shares of the company’s stock after selling 390,342 shares during the quarter. AstraZeneca comprises 1.7% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.06% of AstraZeneca worth $135,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AZN. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 191,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,156,000 after buying an additional 17,548 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 19.7% in the second quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 19,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in AstraZeneca by 68.2% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,899,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,730,000 after acquiring an additional 770,417 shares during the last quarter. Robbins Farley acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,857,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 12,167,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $850,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605,133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN stock opened at $94.51 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $61.24 and a twelve month high of $96.51. The business’s fifty day moving average is $90.82 and its 200-day moving average is $82.40. The company has a market cap of $293.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.34.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.05. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 32.89%. The business had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.75 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.75.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led 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’s operations span research and development, large-scale manufacturing, and commercial distribution, with a presence in developed and emerging markets worldwide.

The company focuses on several core therapy areas including oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism (CVRM), respiratory and immunology, and rare diseases.