Henshaw Capital LLC Cuts Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Henshaw Capital LLC decreased its holdings in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 37.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,880 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,500 shares during the quarter. Henshaw Capital LLC’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $1,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Astrazeneca by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,076,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in Astrazeneca by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 4,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $737,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Vista Investment Management raised its position in Astrazeneca by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vista Investment Management now owns 21,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,723,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its position in Astrazeneca by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 3,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AZN shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, June 26th. DZ Bank raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:AZN opened at $169.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $263.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.38, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $179.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $187.80. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52-week low of $145.79 and a 52-week high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 31.45%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.17 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

Astrazeneca Company 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.