Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Sold by Thornburg Investment Management Inc.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 505,985 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,962 shares during the period. Astrazeneca makes up about 1.1% of Thornburg Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $88,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 102.7% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 304 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 3,350.0% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 345 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AZN. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZN opened at $178.79 on Monday. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $137.23 and a one year high of $212.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $189.26 and a 200-day moving average of $186.07. The company has a market capitalization of $277.28 billion, a PE ratio of 26.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The company had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.