AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by Professional Advisory Services Inc.

Professional Advisory Services Inc. lessened its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 305,433 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,512 shares during the quarter. AstraZeneca makes up about 3.1% of Professional Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Professional Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $22,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Portfolio Design Labs LLC acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $221,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth about $1,679,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 153.5% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 153,695 shares of the company's stock worth $10,125,000 after buying an additional 93,071 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 498,831 shares of the company's stock worth $32,683,000 after buying an additional 5,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 35,300 shares of the company's stock worth $2,313,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AZN. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $72.88 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $61.24 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $69.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.01. The company has a market cap of $226.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.25, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.14. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. The firm had revenue of $13.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.06 earnings per share. AstraZeneca's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company's marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.

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