Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 747,560 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,254 shares during the period. Astrazeneca accounts for approximately 6.1% of Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $131,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 344.6% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,478,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,841,000 after buying an additional 2,695,793 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 41.8% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 6,129,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807,565 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 11,190.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,806,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,790,874 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 64.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,783,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,662 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 4.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,461,786 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Astrazeneca Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of AZN opened at $182.48 on Friday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12-month low of $137.23 and a 12-month high of $212.71. 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 capitalization of $283.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $189.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $185.85.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.