Eagle Asset Management Inc. Sells 844,579 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 575,604 shares of the company’s stock after selling 844,579 shares during the quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $44,845,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Martin Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC now owns 284,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,571,000 after purchasing an additional 7,615 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 46.6% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 43,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,398,000 after acquiring an additional 13,860 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 224,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,510,000 after acquiring an additional 16,692 shares in the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $269,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 124.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 98,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,657,000 after acquiring an additional 54,488 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $65.63 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $73.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.40, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.47. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 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.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.08 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on AZN. Erste Group Bank raised AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.