Bank of Stockton Cuts Stock Holdings in Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Bank of Stockton lowered its position in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 56.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,940 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,123 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $777,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Bangor Savings Bank raised its position in Astrazeneca by 102.7% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 304 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Astrazeneca in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Stock Up 1.4%

Astrazeneca stock opened at $192.77 on Wednesday. Astrazeneca Plc has a fifty-two week low of $137.23 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $298.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $184.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The business had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 billion. Analysts predict that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AZN shares. DZ Bank raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Astrazeneca currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.33.

About Astrazeneca

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.