30,000 Shares in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Acquired by Diadema Partners LP

Diadema Partners LP bought a new position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 30,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,966,000. AstraZeneca accounts for approximately 0.8% of Diadema Partners LP’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter valued at about $754,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 25.9% during 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 lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 143,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,433,000 after acquiring an additional 7,341 shares during the period. Finally, Asio Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 11.6% in the fourth 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $86.80.

AstraZeneca Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:AZN opened at $66.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1-year low of $61.24 and a 1-year high of $87.68.

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 return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 13.01%. Sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

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

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.