Cetera Investment Advisers Sells 2,304 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC $AZN

Cetera Investment Advisers reduced its holdings in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 248,891 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,304 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $17,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 123.6% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $721,000 after acquiring an additional 5,705 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.4% in the second quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $982,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. increased its stake in AstraZeneca by 1.9% in the second quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 76,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 14.9% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 5,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz SE raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 148.6% during the second quarter. Allianz SE now owns 7,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 4,315 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on AZN shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.00.

AstraZeneca Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $89.55 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.67. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $61.24 and a one year high of $90.27. The company has a market cap of $277.73 billion, a PE ratio of 33.67, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $82.45 and a 200-day moving average of $76.49.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $15.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.75 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 32.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 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.