Modern Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 3,444 AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth $754,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 1,949 shares in the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its stake in AstraZeneca by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 143,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,433,000 after acquiring an additional 7,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asio Capital LLC increased its holdings in AstraZeneca by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 53,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,508,000 after acquiring an additional 5,569 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 1.3 %

AZN stock opened at $73.79 on Friday. AstraZeneca PLC has a one year low of $62.75 and a one year high of $87.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.65, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $73.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.93.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZN has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus 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.