AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Stock Position Cut by Altrius Capital Management Inc

Altrius Capital Management Inc cut its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 3.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 108,790 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,424 shares during the quarter. AstraZeneca comprises about 2.1% of Altrius Capital Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Altrius Capital Management Inc’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $8,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 17.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,151,177,000 after purchasing an additional 9,002,450 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in AstraZeneca in the first quarter valued at approximately $186,127,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the second quarter worth approximately $188,476,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 750.3% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,283,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,934,000 after purchasing an additional 950,000 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AstraZeneca stock traded down $1.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $63.72. The stock had a trading volume of 1,692,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,248,717. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.12, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.47. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $75.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.29.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. TD Cowen upped their price target on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

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.