Boston Common Asset Management LLC Decreases Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 55,110 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,855 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $3,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AZN. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 320.8% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 543,398 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 101,225 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2,618.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 734 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:AZN traded down $0.31 on Friday, hitting $66.60. The stock had a trading volume of 5,419,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,140,949. The business's fifty day moving average is $66.11 and its 200 day moving average is $74.49. 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 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $206.50 billion, a PE ratio of 31.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price 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.