Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Sold by Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc.

Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 49.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,116 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,862 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $1,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Astrazeneca by 4.7% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,633,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,503,614,000 after buying an additional 1,461,786 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,791,051,000 after acquiring an additional 438,709 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,157,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,537,684,000 after acquiring an additional 445,014 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,878,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,435,716,000 after acquiring an additional 432,939 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,805,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,517,000 after acquiring an additional 582,183 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE AZN opened at $190.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $296.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 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 Plc has a 1 year low of $137.23 and a 1 year high of $212.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $184.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $187.32.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday. DZ Bank raised Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Twelve equities 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.33.

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.