Strategic Global Advisors LLC Sells 848 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Strategic Global Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,243 shares of the company’s stock after selling 848 shares during the quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,562,000. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 33,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,208,000 after buying an additional 3,842 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 87.2% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 8,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $579,000 after buying an additional 4,117 shares in the last quarter. Professional Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Professional Advisory Services Inc. now owns 332,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,815,000 after acquiring an additional 56,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 3,313.5% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of AZN opened at $68.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $70.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.45. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $61.24 and a 12 month high of $87.68. The company has a market capitalization of $213.40 billion, a PE ratio of 30.45, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.14. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. The company had revenue of $13.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.06 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

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.