Howard Financial Services LTD. Sells 3,994 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Howard Financial Services LTD. decreased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 48.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,240 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,994 shares during the quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in AstraZeneca by 0.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 49,492,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,351,653,000 after acquiring an additional 358,399 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,782,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,342,367,000 after buying an additional 164,183 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 14,684,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $988,972,000 after buying an additional 4,122,965 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,424,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $708,617,000 after buying an additional 889,178 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,404,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,361,000 after buying an additional 233,015 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN stock traded down $0.19 on Friday, hitting $77.99. 3,627,635 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,592,170. The firm has a market cap of $241.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.32, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.48. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $80.86. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $12.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.92 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.42%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.