Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. Has $1.41 Million Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. grew its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 3.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,128 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 19.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 17,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 40.6% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Sunpointe LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 3,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $76.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $238.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $81.45 and a 200-day moving average of $77.67.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is currently 47.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AZN shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

About AstraZeneca

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.