Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Acquires Shares of 74,997 AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 74,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,512,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 34.4% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 781 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 4.4% in the first quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,263 shares of the company's stock worth $2,077,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 9.4% in the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 15,252 shares of the company's stock worth $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 166.8% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 23,583 shares of the company's stock worth $1,733,000 after acquiring an additional 14,743 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 13.8% in the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,033 shares of the company's stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZN traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $72.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,453,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,203,549. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $61.24 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The firm's 50 day moving average is $69.32 and its 200-day moving average is $69.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $226.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.38.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $13.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. The business's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.06 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share 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.