NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Sells 4,210 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lessened its stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 18.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,087 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,210 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AZN. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 12,901 shares of the company's stock worth $845,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 642 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Tiller Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Tiller Private Wealth Inc. now owns 3,350 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 35,300 shares of the company's stock worth $2,313,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 5,995 shares of the company's stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $85.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN stock traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $74.42. 3,131,183 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,202,775. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $61.24 and a 1-year high of $87.68. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.80 billion, a PE ratio of 32.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.38.

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