American National Bank & Trust Co. VA Purchases Shares of 6,335 AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

American National Bank & Trust Co. VA purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $429,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in AstraZeneca by 100.6% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 4,193 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 7.3% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 54,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,704,000 after buying an additional 3,741 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 184.6% during the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 12,118 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.0% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,242,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,294,000 after buying an additional 201,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 2.2% in the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 15,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AZN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Argus increased their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $76.80 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $77.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.68. AstraZeneca PLC has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $80.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.45.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $12.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.92 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 30.42%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About AstraZeneca

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.