Assetmark Inc. Has $37.69 Million Stake in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. cut its AstraZeneca stake by 43% in the first quarter, selling 144,280 shares and leaving it with 191,107 shares valued at about $37.69 million.
• AstraZeneca’s latest quarterly results beat Wall Street expectations, with EPS of $2.58 versus estimates of $2.52 and revenue of $15.29 billion versus expected $14.93 billion.
• Analysts remain broadly upbeat on the stock, with 13 Buy ratings, a consensus Moderate Buy view, and an average price target of $211.

Assetmark Inc. reduced its stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 43.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 191,107 shares of the company's stock after selling 144,280 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $37,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,791,051,000 after acquiring 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 in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Astrazeneca by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,878,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,435,716,000 after buying an additional 432,939 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 546.1% during the 1st 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 during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Astrazeneca by 65.3% during the 4th quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,154,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,080,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,431,890 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of AZN stock opened at $168.81 on Friday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1 year low of $137.23 and a 1 year high of $212.71. The company has a market cap of $261.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $182.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $188.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The firm had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. HSBC cut Astrazeneca from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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