Community Trust & Investment Co. Buys Shares of 91,081 Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Community Trust & Investment Co. purchased a new stake in Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 91,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,271,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AZN. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Astrazeneca in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Astrazeneca during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $161.28 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $250.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.11, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.26. Astrazeneca Plc has a 12 month low of $145.79 and a 12 month high of $212.71. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. Astrazeneca had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 31.45%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.17 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. Barclays reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Monday, June 1st. DZ Bank raised shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Monday, May 4th. HSBC cut shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Astrazeneca from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.00.

About Astrazeneca

AstraZeneca plc is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.