Howe & Rusling Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Howe & Rusling Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 19.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 119,812 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,784 shares during the quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $9,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 19.1% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 860 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 17,269 shares of the company's stock worth $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Crumly & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 6,644 shares of the company's stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 40.6% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 506 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ AZN traded down $0.60 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $63.20. 6,228,986 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,299,721. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $74.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.06. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $87.68. The company has a market cap of $195.96 billion, a PE ratio of 30.53, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. AstraZeneca's revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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 research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank raised AstraZeneca from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca 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.