First City Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

First City Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,113 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $532,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 320.8% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the third quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.7 %

AZN stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $66.31. The company had a trading volume of 2,229,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,472,635. The company has a 50 day moving average of $66.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The company has a market capitalization of $205.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.73, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.45.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 12.68%. The business’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on AZN. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.