Hamel Associates Inc. Lowers Stake in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Hamel Associates Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 41.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,611 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,243 shares during the period. Hamel Associates Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Astrazeneca by 93.2% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 45.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after acquiring an additional 11,690 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 54.4% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 10,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $731,000 after acquiring an additional 3,618 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 898.4% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,339,000 after acquiring an additional 30,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,259,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:AZN opened at $168.81 on Monday. 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 Plc has a 12 month low of $137.23 and a 12 month high of $212.71. The company has a market cap of $261.82 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.44.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. Research analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AZN. HSBC cut shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.00.

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.