Sunbelt Securities Inc. Sells 5,631 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Sunbelt Securities Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 51.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,357 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,631 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $1,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 146,574.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 15,386,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,034,456,000 after purchasing an additional 15,375,659 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Astrazeneca during the first quarter worth $725,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV acquired a new position in Astrazeneca during the first quarter worth $35,000. ROI Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Astrazeneca during the first quarter valued at about $258,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 208.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,386,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,048,417,000 after buying an additional 7,021,126 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 1.0%

Astrazeneca stock opened at $171.50 on Friday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52 week low of $145.79 and a 52 week high of $212.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $265.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.63, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.24. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $179.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.83.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.17 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AZN shares. DZ Bank upgraded Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.00.

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.