PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 117,223 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services cut its AstraZeneca stake by 47.8% in the first quarter, selling 117,223 shares and leaving it with 128,254 shares valued at about $25.3 million.
• Institutional ownership remains significant, with several large funds adding to positions, while overall institutional investors hold 20.35% of AstraZeneca’s stock.
• Wall Street sentiment is still broadly positive: analysts have issued 13 Buy ratings versus one Hold and one Sell, with a consensus Moderate Buy target price of $211.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 47.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 128,254 shares of the company's stock after selling 117,223 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $25,294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 438,709 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in 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 raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 432,939 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Astrazeneca by 546.1% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca in the first quarter valued at $1,202,714,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. HSBC downgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Barclays reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, June 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Bank of America restated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $168.68 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average is $180.55 and its 200-day moving average is $187.97. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $261.61 billion, a PE ratio of 25.33, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.24. Astrazeneca Plc has a fifty-two week low of $142.98 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. The business had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

Astrazeneca 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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