Compound Global Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 4,000 AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Compound Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Martin Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC now owns 284,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,571,000 after purchasing an additional 7,615 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $754,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 1,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its stake in AstraZeneca by 46.6% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 43,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,398,000 after purchasing an additional 13,860 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AZN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN opened at $72.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.33 billion, a PE ratio of 32.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.93. AstraZeneca PLC has a 52-week low of $60.47 and a 52-week high of $87.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $67.46 and a 200 day moving average of $73.56.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 13.01%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.36%.

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.