Sunbelt Securities Inc. Purchases 3,885 Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Free Report) by 50.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,625 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,885 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.'s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AZN. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.00.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.7%

AZN stock traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $70.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,422,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,172,894. The company's fifty day moving average price is $69.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.58. AstraZeneca PLC has a twelve month low of $61.24 and a twelve month 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.36, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40.

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