AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Shares Sold by B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 26.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,280 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,224 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 49,492,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,351,653,000 after purchasing an additional 358,399 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,782,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,342,367,000 after purchasing an additional 164,183 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 39.0% in 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 in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,424,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $708,617,000 after buying an additional 889,178 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,404,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,361,000 after acquiring an additional 233,015 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of AZN opened at $78.42 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $75.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.60. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $80.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $243.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.48.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released 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 business 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.00.

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.