4,544 Shares in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Acquired by True North Advisors LLC

True North Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 4,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 105,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,888,000 after acquiring an additional 26,391 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 1,170.2% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 213,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,994,000 after purchasing an additional 196,772 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 4,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 608 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, XML Financial LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 6,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.4 %

AZN opened at $68.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $211.49 billion, a PE ratio of 32.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.71. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The business has a 50-day moving average of $66.26 and a 200-day moving average of $74.28.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. The company’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 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

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.