Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Sells 33,456 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lessened its position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 40.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 50,083 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,456 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $9,850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 93.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,789 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 45.3% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 11,690 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Astrazeneca by 54.4% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 10,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 3,618 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC grew its position in Astrazeneca by 898.4% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,339,000 after purchasing an additional 30,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,259,000 after buying an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of AZN stock opened at $192.77 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $298.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.94, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a 50 day moving average of $184.08 and a 200-day moving average of $188.53. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12-month low of $137.23 and a 12-month high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The business had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AZN. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.