First City Capital Management Inc. Sells 200 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

First City Capital Management Inc. cut its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,113 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 109.6% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,122,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,492,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522,715 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 750.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,283,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,523,000 after buying an additional 1,132,362 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,934,000 after acquiring an additional 950,000 shares during the period. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter worth about $72,437,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AZN shares. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Erste Group Bank upgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN traded up $0.43 during trading on Friday, hitting $66.31. 2,229,378 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,472,635. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $66.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.43. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The company has a market cap of $205.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.45.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About AstraZeneca

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.