Community Trust & Investment Co. Buys 2,111 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Community Trust & Investment Co. increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 174,620 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,111 shares during the period. Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $13,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $77.32 on Wednesday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $87.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.73 billion, a PE ratio of 37.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is currently 48.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AZN. 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 objective on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.