Capital Wealth Planning LLC Lowers Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Capital Wealth Planning LLC cut its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 31.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,180 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,768 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $554,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,684,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $988,972,000 after buying an additional 4,122,965 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at $143,999,000. Manning & Napier Group LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 281.2% during the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 2,779,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,180,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,064 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 118.9% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,592,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 346.3% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,420,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,696,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102,490 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AZN shares. Citigroup raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded up $1.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $79.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,051,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,758,140. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $78.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $245.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.89. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $80.86.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.08. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The business had revenue of $12.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.92 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Profile

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company's marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.