Hanson & Doremus Investment Management cut its stake in AstraZeneca plc (NYSE:AZN) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 29,083 shares of the company’s stock after selling 715 shares during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,733,000 after buying an additional 10,381 shares during the period. Galibier Capital Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 525.9% in the 4th quarter. Galibier Capital Management Ltd. now owns 357,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,838,000 after purchasing an additional 300,611 shares during the period. Patten Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 65,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,280,000 after purchasing an additional 1,445 shares during the period. Allred Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter worth $1,246,000. 17.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
AZN stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $50.50. 175,966 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,087,959. AstraZeneca plc has a one year low of $35.30 and a one year high of $51.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $132.50 billion, a PE ratio of 29.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $49.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.60.
AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.05. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 38.63% and a net margin of 8.42%. The company had revenue of $6.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that AstraZeneca plc will post 1.81 EPS for the current year.
A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Leerink Swann started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Liberum Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Svb Leerink assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. ValuEngine cut AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research lowered AstraZeneca from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $49.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.35.
AstraZeneca Company Profile
AstraZeneca PLC discovers, develops, and commercializes prescription medicines in the areas of oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism, respiratory, autoimmunity, infection, neuroscience, and gastroenterology worldwide. Its marketed products include Arimidex, Casodex/Cosudex, Calquence, Faslodex, Imfinzi, Iressa, Lynparza, Nolvadex, Tagrisso, and Zoladex for oncology diseases; Atacand1/Atacand HCT/Atacand Plus, Brilinta/Brilique, Crestor, Plendil, Seloken/Toprol-XL, Tenormin, and Zestril for cardiovascular diseases; and Bydureon, Byetta, Farxiga/Forxiga, Kombiglyze XR, Komboglyze, Onglyza, Qtern, Symlin, Xigduo, and Xigduo XR for metabolic diseases.
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