CENTRAL TRUST Co Lowers Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

CENTRAL TRUST Co lowered its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,585 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 320.8% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in AstraZeneca by 22.9% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 543,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 101,225 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $69.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $67.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.85. The firm has a market cap of $216.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $13.57 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Company 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.