KCM Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,672 shares of the company’s stock after selling 171 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AZN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 17.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,151,177,000 after acquiring an additional 9,002,450 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the first quarter worth about $186,127,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the second quarter worth about $188,476,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 750.3% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,283,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,523,000 after buying an additional 1,132,362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 65.1% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,934,000 after buying an additional 950,000 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on AZN. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $63.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.25, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.47. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $60.47 and a twelve month high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

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.