Monte Financial Group LLC Sells 2,071 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Monte Financial Group LLC lowered its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 22,724 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,071 shares during the period. Monte Financial Group LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 19.1% during the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 17,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 40.6% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Sunpointe LLC grew its position in AstraZeneca by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 3,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ AZN opened at $76.95 on Thursday. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $60.47 and a one year high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $238.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.42.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal 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.