Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Sold by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners sharply reduced its AstraZeneca stake by 83.4% in the first quarter, selling 689,962 shares and leaving it with 137,132 shares valued at about $27.0 million.
• AstraZeneca reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.58 versus the $2.52 estimate and revenue of $15.29 billion versus $14.93 billion expected.
• Wall Street sentiment remains largely positive: 13 analysts rate the stock a Buy, and the consensus price target is $211, even though one firm still has a Sell rating.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. cut its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 83.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 137,132 shares of the company's stock after selling 689,962 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $27,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 438,709 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 445,014 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 3.2% during the fourth 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 during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 546.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,667,812 shares of the company's stock worth $1,315,026,000 after purchasing an additional 5,635,812 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank purchased a new position in Astrazeneca in the 1st quarter valued at $1,202,714,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astrazeneca Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of AZN stock opened at $168.68 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $180.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $188.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $261.61 billion, a PE ratio of 25.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.24. 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 Plc has a 1-year low of $142.98 and a 1-year high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AZN. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Friday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "sell" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca presently 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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