Montecito Bank & Trust Acquires 4,328 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Montecito Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 104.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,484 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,328 shares during the period. Montecito Bank & Trust’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter valued at $21,926,000. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 6.9% in the first quarter. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca by 1.5% during the first quarter. Optas LLC now owns 15,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Asio Capital LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.2% during the first quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 54,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,981,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 14.0% during the first quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $73.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $61.24 and a twelve month high of $87.68. The company has a market capitalization of $228.10 billion, a PE ratio of 32.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.38.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $13.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. AstraZeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.06 EPS. Research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, BNP Paribas started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.00.

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.