KCM Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,672 shares of the company’s stock after selling 171 shares during the quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 238,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,563,000 after buying an additional 5,269 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 27,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,154,000 after acquiring an additional 1,333 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 36.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 12,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $961,000 after acquiring an additional 3,272 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 13,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 7,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 1,205 shares during the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $63.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.25, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $75.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.20. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The company had revenue of $13.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Company 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.