Flputnam Investment Management Co. Sells 5,513 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Flputnam Investment Management Co. trimmed its stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 142,906 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,513 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $27,096,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Astrazeneca during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AZN. HSBC cut Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.67.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE AZN opened at $162.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $252.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.26. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1-year low of $145.79 and a 1-year high of $212.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $171.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.73.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.19 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.