Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Sold by Glenview Trust Co

Glenview Trust Co decreased its position in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 50.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,950 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,973 shares during the period. Glenview Trust Co’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Astrazeneca by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,791,051,000 after buying an additional 438,709 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.3% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 3.2% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 546.1% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,667,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,315,026,000 after acquiring an additional 5,635,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca in the first quarter worth about $1,202,714,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:AZN opened at $169.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $262.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.24. Astrazeneca Plc has a one year low of $142.98 and a one year high of $212.71. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.13.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.93 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AZN. DZ Bank upgraded Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.