Westport Asset Management Inc. Sells 7,500 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Key Points

• Westport Asset Management cut its AstraZeneca stake by 50% in the first quarter, selling 7,500 shares and retaining 7,500 shares valued at approximately $1.48 million.
• Institutional ownership remains significant at 20.35%, with several firms adding shares recently, including Allspring Global Investments, which increased its position by 750.5%.
• AstraZeneca has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from analysts, with 13 Buy ratings and a consensus price target of $211. The stock opened at $168.68, while the company’s latest quarterly EPS of $2.63 exceeded estimates despite revenue coming in slightly below expectations.

Westport Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Free Report) by 50.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,500 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,500 shares during the period. Westport Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $1,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Common Asset Management LLC increased its position in Astrazeneca by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 83,424 shares of the company's stock worth $7,669,000 after acquiring an additional 14,576 shares during the period. Pursuit Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter valued at about $636,000. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 83,539 shares of the company's stock worth $7,680,000 after acquiring an additional 12,255 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Astrazeneca during the 4th quarter worth approximately $925,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Astrazeneca by 750.5% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,628,771 shares of the company's stock valued at $149,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437,253 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Astrazeneca from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Barclays reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.00.

Astrazeneca Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:AZN opened at $168.68 on Monday. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52 week low of $142.98 and a 52 week high of $212.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $261.61 billion, a PE ratio of 25.33, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $180.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.07.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. Analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.