Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Sold by Wesbanco Bank Inc.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. trimmed its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 52.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 60,188 shares of the company’s stock after selling 65,374 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $11,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Astrazeneca by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,089,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,595,000 after purchasing an additional 181,273 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 6.6% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 242,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,581,000 after buying an additional 15,065 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 14.3% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 2,100,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,142,000 after acquiring an additional 262,465 shares during the period. Guardian Capital LP grew its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 31.0% during the third quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 83,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,373,000 after acquiring an additional 19,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Capital Group California Inc. bought a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the third quarter worth about $406,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 1.6%

AZN stock opened at $188.58 on Friday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52 week low of $137.23 and a 52 week high of $212.71. The company has a market capitalization of $292.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $184.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Barclays reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Profile

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.