AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Position Raised by Community Trust & Investment Co.

Community Trust & Investment Co. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 183,523 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,903 shares during the period. Community Trust & Investment Co.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $12,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,117,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,801,080,000 after purchasing an additional 258,477 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,492,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,715 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,480,160 shares of the company's stock valued at $816,509,000 after purchasing an additional 524,175 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.8% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,403,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $265,458,000 after purchasing an additional 186,010 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 109.6% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,071,333 shares of the company's stock valued at $238,397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605,758 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of AZN stock traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.68. 5,233,097 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,997,789. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $203.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.46. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $65.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.69.

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

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.