American National Bank Raises Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

American National Bank lifted its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 47.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,829 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,562 shares during the quarter. American National Bank’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 237.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 123,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,331,000 after acquiring an additional 86,610 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Trust co increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.8% in the third quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 4,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the third quarter valued at approximately $913,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 134.8% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,640,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,119,000 after purchasing an additional 941,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.4% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 328,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,243,000 after purchasing an additional 7,582 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.4 %

AstraZeneca stock opened at $78.88 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $80.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $244.57 billion, a PE ratio of 38.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $76.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.82.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.08. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 13.30%. The company had revenue of $12.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.92 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.00.

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.