Astrazeneca Plc $AZN Shares Sold by Madison Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Madison Asset Management LLC cut its AstraZeneca stake by 47.2% in the first quarter, selling 19,148 shares and leaving it with 21,436 shares valued at about $4.23 million.
• AstraZeneca reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.58 versus the $2.52 consensus and revenue of $15.29 billion versus estimates of $14.93 billion.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on the stock, with 13 Buy ratings and a consensus Moderate Buy target price of $211, even as the shares traded around $169.20.

Madison Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 47.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,436 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,148 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $4,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,601,433 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,791,051,000 after buying an additional 438,709 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Astrazeneca by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,157,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,537,684,000 after acquiring an additional 445,014 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 432,939 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Astrazeneca by 546.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,667,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,315,026,000 after acquiring an additional 5,635,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank acquired a new position in Astrazeneca in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,202,714,000. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZN opened at $169.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $262.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.24. The stock's 50-day moving average is $181.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.20. Astrazeneca Plc has a 1-year low of $138.84 and a 1-year high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.93 billion. Analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AZN. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Friday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Barclays reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Astrazeneca from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.00.

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.

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