22,970 Shares in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Bought by Callan Family Office LLC

Callan Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 22,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,505,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter valued at about $754,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in AstraZeneca by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 143,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,433,000 after buying an additional 7,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asio Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 53,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,508,000 after buying an additional 5,569 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AstraZeneca stock opened at $77.50 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $70.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.88. AstraZeneca PLC has a fifty-two week low of $62.75 and a fifty-two week 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 company has a market cap of $240.34 billion, a PE ratio of 34.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.41.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share 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%. Analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 payout ratio is currently 91.15%.

About AstraZeneca

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.