Great Diamond Partners LLC Lowers Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Great Diamond Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,520 shares of the company’s stock after selling 351 shares during the period. Great Diamond Partners LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 68.9% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 22.9% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 543,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 101,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $70.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $219.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $66.98 and its 200 day moving average is $73.97. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $60.47 and a one year high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $13.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AZN. UBS Group upgraded 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 research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.