Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Reduces Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC decreased its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 6.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 14,084 shares of the company’s stock after selling 892 shares during the quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 189.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,026,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,574,247,000 after acquiring an additional 15,722,197 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at about $254,018,000. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 9,985.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,707,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,444,000 after acquiring an additional 3,670,719 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter worth $158,018,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 220.8% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 3,027,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,363,000 after buying an additional 2,083,645 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $85.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $70.97 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $220.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.90. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $61.24 and a one year high of $87.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $70.07 and its 200 day moving average is $70.35.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $13.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 33.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca 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.