Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 68,487 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 925,597 shares of the company’s stock after selling 68,487 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $64,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 93.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 2,789 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 115.4% during the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 122.9% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 463,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,050,000 after purchasing an additional 255,401 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 25.6% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 6.9% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $84.58 on Monday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $61.24 and a 12-month high of $86.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $81.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $262.32 billion, a PE 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.75 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 32.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca 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.