Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Has $31.74 Million Stock Position in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lessened its holdings in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 50.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 160,926 shares of the company’s stock after selling 163,622 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $31,738,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Astrazeneca Price Performance

AZN stock opened at $190.93 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $184.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.32. The firm has a market cap of $296.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.91 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.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. DZ Bank upgraded Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.