Advisortrust Partners LLC Buys Shares of 2,956 Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Advisortrust Partners LLC purchased a new position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $519,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Astrazeneca by 20.0% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,089,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,595,000 after acquiring an additional 181,273 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank raised its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 20.4% during the third quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 42,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,298,000 after acquiring an additional 7,289 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 242,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,581,000 after acquiring an additional 15,065 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 2,100,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,142,000 after purchasing an additional 262,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 79,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,136,000 after purchasing an additional 6,172 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Barclays reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:AZN opened at $174.87 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $186.62 and a 200 day moving average of $186.27. Astrazeneca Plc has a 52 week low of $137.23 and a 52 week high of $212.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $271.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.25.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 30.86%. The business had revenue of $15.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Astrazeneca 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.