Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Sells 2,361 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC cut its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 41.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,299 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,361 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 6,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 8,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 16,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Veracity Capital LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $68.20 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $211.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $66.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.32. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca 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.