AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Receives $89.00 Consensus PT from Brokerages

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $86.00.

Separately, Berenberg Bank set a $97.00 price objective on AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AstraZeneca

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 149.3% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the first quarter worth $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 297.9% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 386 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 59.8% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the first quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $77.94 on Friday. AstraZeneca has a 12 month low of $61.24 and a 12 month high of $87.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.77. The company has a market cap of $241.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.30, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.36.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.09. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.84% and a net margin of 14.68%. The business had revenue of $14.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that AstraZeneca will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.505 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 200.0%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.97%.

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.