Montecito Bank & Trust Purchases 4,328 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Montecito Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 104.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,484 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,328 shares during the quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $624,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AZN. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in AstraZeneca in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its position in AstraZeneca by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 642 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 34.4% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 781 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of AZN stock opened at $73.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.54, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.38. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $69.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.35. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $61.24 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.14. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. The company had revenue of $13.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.06 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.00.

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.

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